Agent Sullivan
by Kuldaboli
Summary: Crossover with NCIS: Chloe's journalism career gets put on hold when she gets handed a new career. Not that specifically asked for one, or even wanted one! However, certain agencies have a nack for getting what they want.
1. Chapter 1

Alrighty, let's start with the disclaimer, shall we? I do not own any of this stuff. Smallvile and all characters associated with said show are property of… uh… who ever created the show. And the same goes for NCIS. I own nothing. I just like twisting things around in my screwed up little head and then writing about them _lol_

As for timelines… I'm thinking that for Smallville… something beyond Season 7 would be good. So this would make it sort of a very near future… ish… tale in that universe. Of sorts. As for NCIS… Season 3. Yeah. I like season 3. It was a good season. Cool! Let's run with that. :-D

Hope you enjoy this little concoction of my twisted little mind. As always, I love getting reviews. Good or bad, I don't mind. I want to hear your opinions. :-)

Now let's begin….

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"This is outrageous!" Grant Gabriel exploded. The young editor in chief of the Daily Planet looked absolutely livid. "You can't just waltz in here and…"

"Actually," came the calm voice of the red haired woman sitting across his desk from him, "You will find that I can do just that." The woman's piercing gaze was in very sharp contrast to her calm pretty face. It was the kind of gaze that could bring grown men to their knees.

"I don't know what your connection with Madeline Khan is, lady! But she isn't the editor in chief anymore! I am!"

"Yet, she holds more influence when it comes to the actual owners of this newspaper." Again, that calm tone… and that nearly sultry voice. "I do believe that their word is still law when it comes to the running of this place?" She quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at the young man, who swallowed hard and moistened his lips. Grant's demeanor seemed to falter a bit under the woman's scrutiny.

"As editor in chief, it is my obligation to…"

"To do exactly as your superiors tell you to do, yes, I understand that." The woman cut Grant off. "And as the letter before you states," she indicated the open letter lying on Grant's desk with a flick of her gaze toward it before returning her steely gaze to the young editor, "it is quite clear what they want you to do."

"There must be thousands of reporters all over the continental United States who would jump at the chance to…" Grant tried in vain.

"There are." The woman cut him off again in that same calm authoritative tone. "Yet here I am."

"Yeah… why is that, exactly?" Grant decided it was time to do a little digging of his own. The woman's lips curled into a tiny smirk.

"I'm very particular about what I want, Mr. Gabriel. I only want the best."

"And you think she's the best?" Grant grinned, trying not to chuckle.

"I know she is." The woman replied calmly. Grant chuckled and shook his head in amusement.

"Fine. Whatever." He all but laughed. This chick was insane if she thought she'd be getting a prized pony out of this deal. A nag, yeah, that would be more like it. He punched the speaker key on his phone and dialed an extension. "It's your funeral, lady."

"Writer's pit, Sullivan." Came a young woman's voice over the line.

"My office, Sullivan! Now!" Grant barked authoritatively and then jabbed his finger on to the speaker key again, terminating the connection before the young woman could respond. The woman seated across his desk from him arched her eyebrow at this. "She'll be here in… oh…" He checked his watch, looking a little thoughtful. "I'd give her about 90 seconds." He put his hands in his pockets and grinned lopsidedly at the woman.

Down in the basement, Chloe Sullivan winced at the harsh bark from her editor over the line. Before she could even draw breath to respond, the line went dead. Shit!! He was majorly pissed about something! Hanging up the phone as fast as she could, she saved her work on her computer and scrambled for the elevator as fast as her high heels and skirt would allow her. Maybe it was about her article on the upcoming state election on bill 1441; the improvement of public transportation within the state. He hated reading articles on politics. No… if he wanted to yell at her for a story, he usually did it down here in front of everybody else.

"Whoa! Where's the fire, cuz?" Lois Lane, Chloe's cousin, joked as Chloe tore past her, nearly sending the tall girl falling flat on her ass in the process.

"Can't talk gotta run sorry Lois!" Chloe's words came out so fast, that it took Lois a few seconds to decipher them into something intelligible. By that time, the doors of the elevator were closing, Chloe all but bouncing on her feet as she stared up at the indicator lights above the door.

It felt like the elevator ride was taking forever! Chloe could swear the elevator went up one floor, then down two floors! "Come on come on come on come on!" Chloe quietly urged, bouncing up and down in place as she watched the indicator lights. Finally, with a ding, the elevator reached the office floor and as soon as the doors opened enough for Chloe to squeeze herself through the opening, she was off and running down the hall. She skidded to a halt outside the office and took a moment to regain her composure. She straightened out her skirt and her blouse, running a nervous hand over her blond hair to smooth it out.

"Uh, Chloe…?" Mr. Gabriel's secretary got the young blonde's attention. She indicated the back of her head and winced. Chloe quickly ran her hand over the back of her head and found a lock of her hair standing straight out because some of it had gotten lodged in the back of the neckline of her blouse. She quickly corrected the problem, looking up at the secretary with hopeful anticipation. The lady smiled back at her, nodding in approval.

"Thanks." Chloe whispered to her with a smile and knocked on the door.

"Come!" Grant barked from the other side of the door, making Chloe wince. She hesitantly opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"You wanted to see me?" Chloe smiled. Grant just glared back at her, making her smile falter. Uh-oh. Not good. "If this is about my 1441 story, I'm sure I can…"

"It's not about the story." Grant cut her off briskly. Chloe stopped talking instantly. Okay… phew! "I want you to clear out your desk, Sullivan." Grant said sternly. It was the last thing, Chloe had expected to hear!

"W- what…?" She stammered, staring at Grant like he'd grown a second head right in front of her. "I- ca- uh… can I ask why?"

"You're not going to be around to use it, and I've got someone lined up who needs it." Chloe's jaw sagged in shock as she stared at the man before her. She could not believe what she was hearing!

"A- are you… Are you firing me…?" Chloe asked in stunned disbelief. This wasn't happening! This couldn't be happening! She'd wanted nothing more than to work at the Daily Planet, since she'd learned to write her own name! Grant gave a weird kind of shrug, accompanied by a momentary non-caring curl of his lips.

"Let's just say you've been re-assigned." He said casually. Chloe blinked a few times, staring at him in shock.

"Re-assigned…?" She echoed in confusion. "Where? To do what?"

"That would be where I come in." Came a female voice from behind Chloe. Upon turning around, Chloe saw a red haired woman in her 40's getting up from one of the comfy chairs Grant had in his office. The woman was about Chloe's height, thin, and very elegant. Her skirt suit fit her body to a tee her body language left no doubt in Chloe's mind that here stood a woman of power. "Mr. Gabriel. Would you give us a moment." The woman had addressed the editor in chief without looking at him. And what's more, the question hadn't even been a question at all. It had been an instruction. A courteously phrased one, but an instruction none the less.

"Sure." Grant drawled as he rolled his eyes and headed for the door, his hands in his pockets. He was definitely not pleased. "Maybe I can get you some coffee while I'm out there." He grumbled, slamming the door behind himself as he left. Chloe stared at the door, through which her boss had just exited. What the hell was going on?! The woman walked over to her and her smile was amused as she studied Chloe's face. "It has come to my attention that you are a very gifted journalist, Ms. Sullivan. Your reputation precedes you."

"Uh… Thank you…" Chloe stammered in confusion. She had no idea who this woman was, or what she could want with her.

"What Mr. Gabriel meant when he said you've been re-assigned, is that I'm here, acting on a little piece of advice, slipped to me by my good friend Madeline Khan."

"You know Madeline?" Chloe blurted out before she could stop herself, and successfully interrupting the woman. "I- I mean, Ms. Khan…?" She quickly amended herself. The woman smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"Yes, Madeline and I go quite a ways back. And when I came to her with my little dilemma, she immediately mentioned you as someone who might be able to help me."

"She mentioned… me…" Chloe echoed, feeling both skeptical and surprised.

"In fact, Maddie told me if there was someone I could trust to give me the details on the truth, no matter how ridiculous they sounded, it would be you." The woman smirked. "She thinks very highly of you Ms. Sullivan." Chloe felt extremely flattered by this little piece of news. "How did she put it…?" The woman looked thoughtful for a moment before seemingly remembering something. "She's one touch little cookie." She finished, smirking at the young blond. "Even if she is a bit on the chocolate chip side." Chloe felt her cheeks getting a little warm and she tried her best to smother the goofy grin that was threatening to eat her whole face. Madeline Khan, the toughest editor in the entire city, had said this about her?! Oh my god!! Talk about a compliment!

"Okay… What do you need?" Chloe wasn't sure what to expect from this woman, but any friend of Madeline's… after all, Madeline Khan had been the one to give Chloe her first big break in the journalism world, and giving her an internship at the planet, starting at the bottom level with the chance to work her way up from there. The woman smiled, seemingly amused at some private joke.

"You misunderstand me, Ms. Sullivan. I don't need you to do some small thing for me as a favor. I'm here to give you a job." The woman's phrasing of this last sentence was not lost on Chloe. She'd used the word 'give'… not 'offer'.

"Well… thank you, but… I already have a job." Chloe was trying to be as polite as she could. This whole situation was confusing enough. The woman nodded slowly.

"And now, you have a better one." She said with a small smirk. Chloe blinked. Who was this person?! "Tell you what. Why don't you take the day to think things through, and then call me tonight." The woman moved over to the chair she had occupied when Chloe had entered the room and picked up a folder. "This has all the information on the job I'm giving you. Read through it and mull it over." She handed the folder to Chloe, who took it hesitantly. "My card's in the jacket." The woman said with a smile as she picked up her purse. "I'll be expecting your call tonight, Ms. Sullivan." And with that, she headed for the door. Chloe stared at the folder in her hands.

"Who are you?" Chloe's question made the woman stop at the door and look over her shoulder at the young woman.

"All the answers are in that folder. Read it through carefully." As the woman spoke, Chloe flipped open the jacket, and the first phrase on the very first page stunned her.

"Civilian field media attaché?!" Chloe exclaimed out loud, the words coming out in a bit of a shocked chuckle. She was completely floored by what she was seeing. She looked up to see the woman watching her with an amused grin on her lips. "What is this, the army?!" Chloe's head was spinning so fast. What the hell was going on?!

"The army… No. Not quite." The woman smiled mischievously and turned, exiting through the door, and leaving Chloe alone in the office. Chloe blinked a few times, staring at the now closed door. What had just happened?! That woman… oh shoot! She'd forgotten to get her name! Oh, really nice move, Sullivan! She had just offered her a job! No, wait… she said 'give'! She'd 'given' her a job! But she already had one! Didn't she…? Her editor had just told her to clear out her desk because she wouldn't be using it anymore. So, no… she didn't already have a job. Chloe let herself slump down, reclining against the edge of Grant's desk, staring at the folder in her hands. What had just happened?! She opened the jacket again, staring down at the first page. Civilian field media attaché. There was the job title, in bold black official looking letters. It sounded like something thought up by the government. Wouldn't it be just perfect if she got pulled into some governmental agency after everything she'd claimed over the years about conspiracies and the like? That would be Murphy's Law in the worst possible way. Her green eyes travelled lower on the page, scanning the content without taking in a word of it. This was a joke. It had to be. Anytime now, Ashton Kutcher would come jumping into the room, giggling like an insane monkey that she'd just been punked. She was just about to close the folder, thinking she might as well read it later, when her eyes caught something in the upper right corner of the first page. Taking a closer look, she noticed an insignia. It looked like a four letter abbreviation.

"NCIS…?" She whispered, frowning. "What the hell is NCIS?" She wracked her brain trying to imagine what it could stand for… National Crockpot Inspection Society? Wait, what? Why would they need a journalist? Nah! It couldn't be that. Nordic Circle Information Service? Whoa! They were sending her to the Arctic?! No way! It couldn't be that. Uhm… National…. Uh, National….? Ugh! She couldn't think! She huffed in frustration, glaring at the abbreviation. "If all else fails… Google it." She mused to herself.

It didn't take long for Chloe to find the abbreviation's meaning. She sat at Grant's desk, staring at the screen in front of her, her head in her hands.

"I can't believe this…" She whispered to herself. Staring back at her from the screen, on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service webpage, was a picture of the same red haired woman she'd just talked to a few minutes earlier, captioned: _Jenny __Shepard__ Director, Naval Criminal Investigative Service_. "The navy…? What could they possibly want with me?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you kidding me?!!" Lois was staring at Chloe as if she'd just sprouted wings. "The director of NCIS, 'herself', walked up to you in Grant's office and 'gave' you a job as a media attaché?!!"

"Well… kinda…" Chloe winced. She was sitting on the couch in the living room of the apartment she and Lois shared, located above Smallville's #1 coffee house and teen hangout. As for Lois… She was too agitated to sit. She was staring at her cousin in shocked bewilderment.

"And?!" She urged impatiently. "What did you tell her?!"

"Well… nothing, really." Chloe gave a weak shrug of her shoulders. "She was kind of out the door before I could say anything." Lois' jaw sagged further as she stared at Chloe as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But she did tell me to call her tonight after I'd thought it through." Chloe hurriedly added, knowing that another Lois bomb was about to drop. Lois did a double take on that one.

"Call her, as in… Call her?"

"Yeah. That's what's usually implied when people ask you to call them." Chloe drawled. She held up Jenny's card and Lois quickly snatched it out of her fingers. "Hey!" Chloe snapped, quickly getting up from the couch. "Give that back!" Lois held her shorter cousin at bay with one arm while examining the card held in her other hand.

"This has her direct extension on it." She flipped the card over and gaped. "Chloe?!!" She whirled around to face the blond, staring at her in shock. "This card has her cell phone number on the back!!" Lois shook the card in Chloe's face. Chloe blinked in surprise. She really hadn't thought of turning the card over. "What the hell kind of deal are they offering you?!!" Before Chloe could do more than blink, there was a knock on their front door.

"Chloe? Lois? You guys alright?" Came Clark's voice from the other side of the door. "You're not arguing are you?

"Go away, Smallville!" Lois called over her shoulder without taking her eyes off her cousin. "We're not home!"

"Chloe?" Clark called. "What's going on in there?" Chloe moved around Lois and opened the door, letting Clark in.

"Lois is having a conniption fit." She sighed.

"And you would be too, Smallville, if you knew what I just found out about our intrepid reporter, here!"

"What's going on?" Clark looked from Lois to Chloe, who looked a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

"It's nothing…" Chloe started, but Lois obviously did not agree with her.

"Nothing?!" She guffawed. "She just got handed a job at NCIS! No, wait, correction, a career!!" Clark blinked at this, looking confused.

"What's NCIS?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Lois supplied slowly, as if Clark had a hearing impairment, or was a little slow; or possibly both. "The director of the agency showed up at the Planet and handed her the job 'in person'!"

"The Navy?" Clark blinked. "What would the Navy want with Chloe?"

"Good question! Thank you Clark." Chloe sighed. "I've been trying to get that point across to her for… God, I don't know how long."

"Wait, what is it that NCIS does exactly?" He frowned in confusion, directing his question at Lois.

"It's like Army CID." Lois replied.

"Which is…?" Clark asked, not really understanding a lot more than before. Lois huffed in exasperation.

"You've seen CSI, right? On TV? You know, that little square box with all the pictures?" Clark leveled a look on Lois at these words that made it clear that he was in no mood for her snark. "Well, NCIS and Army CID are the same thing and basically do the same stuff that the CSI teams do. Only they deal with affairs of the military, and… on a much grander scale. Army CID deals with Army stuff, and NCIS handles Naval issues and stuff regarding the Marines, that kind of thing." Lois explained. "And I don't think little miss sunshine here is too happy about the idea of being asked to join." She crossed her arms, glaring at Chloe.

"I wasn't asked, Lois!" Chloe snapped. "She just… handed me the job and told me to call her when I'd given it some thought."

"And have you?" Clark asked, looking at her intently. "Thought about it, I mean."

"I… I don't know. I mean… It's an amazing opportunity. How often do you get a job like this just handed to you?"

"What kind of a job is it, exactly?"

"Civilian field media attaché." Chloe sighed, running her hand through her blond hair. Clark frowned in confusion. "According to this folder, Jenny gave me…"

"Oh look, already on a first name basis with the director." Lois teased. Chloe rolled her eyes. She was so not in a joking mood, right now.

"As I was saying," Chloe shot her cousin a withering look, one that Lois blatantly ignored. "According to the folder 'Director Shepard' gave me, it basically means that I'm attached to an investigation team as an information handler and media hound."

"Meaning…?" Clark queried.

"I dig up facts, do background checks, dig into suspects lives, conduct on-scene interviews, and report the findings to the team leader. It also means that I'd be the team's face when it comes to dealing with the media. If there's a lot of media buzz surrounding a case we're working on…"

"We?!" Lois injected with an amused smirk. "Sounds like you've already made up your mind, Tinkerbelle."

"…then I handle the press." Chloe trudged on, ignoring Lois' little barb. "Any kind of quotes, soundbites, airtime, etc, any kind of media coverage directly involving the team, all that stuff would go through me."

"Wow. That's a big job." Clark looked both surprised and impressed. "So… you're taking it?"

"I don't know, Clark." Chloe dropped onto the couch, sitting there with her face in her hands. "God knows I want to, but…" She stopped and sighed.

"But…?" Clark prodded gently.

"For one thing…" Chloe continued, "I know squat about actual forensics, and for another… the job's in Washington DC!"

"Whoa!" Lois injected. "They want you at headquarters? You mean you're not going to be at some local office in the next state or something?" Chloe slowly shook her head. "Jesus…" Lois ran a hand down her face. "Chloe, this is huge."

"I know…" Chloe whispered. "I'd be an idiot to turn it down." She picked at her own fingernails, her green eyes locked on the action. "Not to mention the money…" She mumbled.

"The money?" Lois had obviously caught that. "What do you mean? This is a job with the armed forces. How much could they possibly be offering you?" Without a word Chloe picked up a sheet from the folder and held it out to Lois, who plucked it out of the blonde's fingers and scanned it. Her eyes almost bulged out of her head when she saw the amount being offered. "HOLY SHIT!!" She exclaimed rather loudly. "Is this number for real?!"

"Yeah…" Chloe said, staring at her own hands. "Note the signature. The director signed that document herself. It's very real."

"And this is actual US dollars, not Monopoly money or anything?" Chloe sent Lois a look that seemed to say 'Duh!'. "What?! I was just asking." Lois defended herself.

"So… if you take this job, you'd be heading to Washington. Leaving Smallville." Clark said softly. Chloe looked up at him through her lashes, knowing what he was thinking. They were best friends. And she was the keeper of his big secret. Well, she and Lana, actually. The thought of leaving made her sad. They'd been through so much together. How many times had he saved her from some near fatal disaster? How many hours had they spent in the loft above the barn, just talking about everything and nothing? How many times had they spent entire evenings, watching movies together, with her spending more time watching him watch the movie, than actually watching the movie herself?

"Yeah." She whispered, nodding her head a little and biting her lip. "If I take this job… If I accept all that they're willing to give me… I'll be moving out of Smallville. Possibly for good, I don't know." Clark watched her for a long time, taking in the troubled look in her green eyes. "Say something…" Chloe whispered, desperate to hear what he had to say on this matter. Clark moved over to the couch and got down on one knee before her.

"How long have we been best friends, Chloe?" Clark asked her. His tone was soft and gentle. It sent a shiver of comfort down Chloe's spine.

"Eighth grade…" Chloe replied in a whisper. Clark nodded slowly.

"I remember the first time you walked into our classroom." A small smile crept across his lips. "You tried so hard to look confident and strong. But I could see the vulnerability in your eyes. You were the new girl, in a new school, in a new town where you didn't know a single soul. But you held your head up high and marched into that classroom like you owned it." Chloe couldn't help but smile, her eyes filling with tears. "Starting out in this new job, if you decide to take it… I think… I 'know' that you'll be alright. Because, although we're not in the eighth grade anymore, the girl who marched into that classroom is still in there." He placed his hand on the side of Chloe's neck, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. "You know I only want the best for you. This is your whole future we're talking about here. You have to do what's right for you. And if you do decide to take this job, and even though you may have to move half way across the country, you know you'll always have a home here."

"Are you trying to make me cry…?" Chloe managed to get out, before a small sob escaped her lips. Clark moved in and wrapped his arms around her. Chloe buried her face in his shoulder and clung onto him for dear life, trying very hard not to break down in tears.

"You'll do fine." Clark whispered in her ear. "Better than fine. You'll dazzle the whole lot of them."

"He's right, couz." Lois crouched down beside them, running her hand along the blonde's back. Chloe looked up, seeing her cousin smiling softly at her. "You're going to rock Washington." Lois' eyes were shining in the light of the room and she looked to be trying to hold back tears of her own. "No one keeps my cousin in a corner. You'll own that crummy town in a week, no question. They won't know what hit them." Pulling out of Clark's arms, Chloe embraced her cousin, the two young women hugging each other tightly. "And hey, who knows, maybe you could slip a lowly reporter a tidbit here and there from inside the belly of the beast. God knows I could use the leg-up." Lois joked to try and lighten the mood. Chloe managed a single sound, half way between laughter and a sob.

"It's going to be so hard not to have you guys around." Chloe whispered.

"Hey," Lois pulled out of the hug, holding Chloe by the arms and smiling at her. "There's this wonderful new invention called a telephone…" This made Chloe laugh through her tears.

"Yeah, I heard something about that."

"Says the girl with the $300 cell phone bill every month." Lois winked with a grin.

"Hey!" Chloe swatted her arm playfully. "It's $276.48, thank you very much."

"And it's not like you're going to be alone in Washington." Clark supplied with a small smile of his own. "My mom's out there, remember?"

"I don't think Capitol Hill's going to be my main hangout, Clark." Chloe giggled. "They'd probably toss me out on my first try to get in there."

"Not if my mom can help it." Clark chuckled. "She loves you to death, Chloe. She'd love to see you." Chloe nibbled on her lower lip, not looking at either Clark or Lois. She had a battle raging inside her head. Did she want this job? The answer was simple: Hell yes!! This was the opportunity of a lifetime! And she only had tonight to decide. The thing was… she'd already decided. Clark's understanding and Lois' encouragements… as snarky and twisted as they may have been… had helped her make up her mind. They were the dearest friends any girl could have. And they had just proved it. They were willing to let her go so that she could embrace her future in a new city. That spoke volumes! People always said that long distance relationships, whether romantic ones or purely based on friendship, would never last. But if she knew those two, they'd do their damndest to make it work.

"So, Ms Sullivan…" came Lois' soft voice, a note of good natured teasing laced into it, "you thinking of taking the job? Becoming 'Agent' Sullivan?" Chloe chuckled, rolling the title around in her head. Agent Sullivan. God, it sounded corny. But still… something about it sounded very right to her. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah…" She whispered, looking up at the pair of them. "Yeah, I think I am." Lois' smile faltered just a tiny bit as she stared intently into Chloe's eyes. Then it was back again in full beaming mode. She grabbed Chloe and hugged her tightly.

"God, I'm so proud of you!" She whispered in the blonde's ear, her voice thick with emotion as she held her in a tight hug. Chloe hugged her back, feeling her eyes well up with tears of relief and joy. She felt a hand running soothingly along her back and broke the embrace to look at Clark. He was watching her, giving her a small smile.

"That makes two of us, Chloe." He said softly. This time it was Chloe who did the grabbing and hugging, feeling the comfort of his embrace as his strong arms wrapped around her.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear. She could feel his smile, soft and sweet, even though it felt a little pained. He had lost his best guy-friend when Pete had moved to Wichita with his mom, while they were still in high school… and now, he was losing his best female friend to another city as well. There came the sound of a single clap and then Lois' cheery voice broke the moment.

"Well! I think this calls for a party!" She beamed. Chloe opened her mouth to object, but Lois got there first. "Yes you're having a farewell party! I insist! Hell, I order you to have a farewell party! Okay?" The last word came out of her mouth with a little laugh; one that was a little contagious. Chloe giggled at her cousin's antics, but nodded in agreement.

"Okay. But only a small one, Lois. I don't want you inviting the whole Daly Planet staff, or the entire town of Smallville or nothing. You hear me?!"

"Yes ma'am, agent Sullivan, ma'am." Lois gave a mock armed forces salute and grinned wickedly. Then she bolted to her feet. "I'm going to go plan!" She called happily over her shoulder as she disappeared into her bedroom.

"God, I hope she doesn't go overboard." Chloe sighed, letting her head drop into her hands.

"Knowing her, she most likely will." Clark chuckled. "I'll go and make sure she doesn't do anything too outrageous." Clark made to get up but Chloe stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Look… I know that…" She started and then stopped herself, looking down. "I…" She tried again, but faltered. She really didn't know how to say this. How do you tell your best friend… the person who's relied on you for so long, and whom you've relied on in return… that you're sorry that you're essentially leaving him? She looked into his eyes again and opened her mouth… but nothing came out. God! She was 'word girl'! How the hell could she possibly get tongue tied now?! Clark gave a small smile and reached out toward her face, fixing a lock of her blonde hair, which had fallen into her face, gently behind her ear.

"I know, Chloe." He said softly. "I don't blame you for taking this job. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. You have to grab hold of it. I'm so proud of you for doing this." Chloe bit her lip and smiled at him. How could he be so caring?! "Besides, it's not like we'll never see each other again." He gave her a wicked grin and leant in conspiratorially. "Like I told my mom when she left for Washington…" he whispered, "it's only a few more minutes of traveling time for me to get there to see you." Chloe smothered a giggle. He was right. Damn, it was great to have a best friend with super powers!

"What do you mean you sell that much liquor over the phone?!" Lois' yelling voice reached them, breaking the moment. She was obviously on the phone making arrangements. Chloe's eyes widened in horror as she realized just how much booze Lois had to be ordering for the clerk to refuse the sale. She gave Clark a terrified look and he returned it. Obviously, the same idea had crossed his mind as well.

"I'll go stop her." He said as he scrambled to his feet. "Besides, I think you have a call to Washington to make." He winked at Chloe just before disappearing into Lois' bedroom. Chloe stared at her cell phone, lying innocently on the living room table. Right next to it was Director Shepard's card. After a moment of worried nibbling on her lip, she picked up her phone… and then hesitantly picked up the card as well. She got up and moved to the window, looking out over the nearly deserted main street. It was quiet. Well, if you ignored Lois' and Clark's squabbling in Lois' bedroom, yes, it was very quiet. She wondered what it would be like living in Washington. She remembered the hustle and bustle of living in Metropolis when she was a kid… but that memory had all but been overshadowed by the peaceful quiet of living in Smallville. Okay… maybe not all 'that' quiet, what with all the meteor freaks running around. She gazed down at the card, running her thumb over the digits. It seemed so simple. She only needed to dial this one number and her life would change; possibly forever. Her thumb traveled slowly over her cell phone's keypad, punching in the numbers. Hovering over the last digit, her thumb hesitated. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to leave all that she knew and pursue a career half way across the country? The answer was as clear as day. Yes! She was! Her thumb pressed down on the last digit, completing the number. She stood there staring at her cell phone for a moment until she heard the first tone that indicated that the call had connected and on the other side of the line, in an office somewhere in Washington, the director of the NCIS would be hearing her office phone ring. That is… if she was still working at this hour. Feeling her heart racing, Chloe placed the phone to her ear, nibbling on her lip.

"Director Shepard." Came the clear female voice over the line. Good lord! She was still working at this hour of the night?!

"Yes, hello… This is Chloe Sullivan…" She knew she must have sounded completely retarded just now. God, she could be such a dork sometimes!

"Ah. Ms. Sullivan." The director's voice was pleasant. She sounded like she was smiling. "It's good to hear from you. Would you excuse me for one second?"

"Uh… sure…" Chloe replied, a little caught off guard. She heard the muffled voice of the director speaking to someone, and it sounded like whoever she was speaking to, someone obviously male, wasn't agreeing with her at all. The director finally put her foot down, if the tone of her muffled voice was any indication, and Chloe caught a word that sounded like a name; Jethro. God! Who names their kid 'Jethro'?

"Ms. Sullivan. Sorry about that." director Shepard's voice came back on the line. "You kind of caught me in the middle of something." There was the sound of a door slamming on the other side of the line, and it made Chloe wince a little. "I take it you've looked over the folder I sent you off with?"

"Yes. Yes I did." Chloe replied as she started walking around the room, absentmindedly playing with the card, flicking it through her fingers. "It all sounds very…" She hesitated, looking for the right word.

"Overwhelming?" the director suggested, and it sounded like she was smiling again.

"A little, yeah." Chloe replied with a weak chuckle. "And a little sudden."

"Ms. Sullivan, I've been picking out worthy candidates for these posts for nearly a month now." Wait, did she say 'posts'? As in plural? "And I've chosen only the very best of the best."

"And you think I qualify?" The question was out of Chloe's mouth before she realized she'd even opened her mouth.

"Yes I do." the woman said with finality. "Madeline assured me that you were up for the job. You are the only person she's taken on who handed in a story about meteors and their effects on people as her introductory piece. Expertly written or not, that took a lot of guts, Ms. Sullivan. It impressed Maddie. And it sure as hell impressed me." Chloe felt her face going bright red. Praise, she could handle with no problems. But this was a high ranking official of a military organization who was saying she was impressed with her work. That topped every compliment she'd ever received! Well… maybe not Clark telling her how beautiful she looked when they went to the homecoming dance together in their freshman year of high school… but it was a close second.

"Thank you…" she replied, sounding stunned and grateful.

"When can I expect you in Washington, Ms. Sullivan?" the director got right to the core of the matter. Chloe had not expected the call to hit this level just yet.

"Uh… well… I- I don't know, I…" She stammered. "I have to pack everything and find a place to stay and get the movers in here and…"

"I can have the movers in by the end of the week." the director interrupted her. "Pack only the essentials. The things you want packed specially; clothes, personal items, and the like. The movers will take care of the rest. And as for a place to stay, I can have NAVSUP find you a place to your suiting." Chloe gaped in shock. Did this woman just tell her that she'd take care of everything regarding her move to her new job?! "You need to be in Washington as soon as possible, Ms. Sullivan. There are a few examinations we need to conclude before we can assign you to your post." The mention of examinations jerked Chloe back to reality.

"What kind of examinations?" Chloe asked, feeling herself getting nervous. If they started poking and prodding and discovered her little… 'abnormality', that had resulted from her exposure to meteor rocks… all hell would undoubtedly break loose.

"All the standard tests. A complete physical, self defense capability, weapons knowledge and usage, psych-evaluation, the works." Chloe felt a warning bell sound in her head. This was bad! If they found out what the meteors had done to her, shed' be locked up in a lab for the rest of her life! "There's no need to worry, Ms. Sullivan." the woman had obviously sensed Chloe's distress from the fact that shed' remained quiet for a little too long. "It's not like we're going to strap you to an autopsy table and root around inside you. I give you my word, it'll be fine." Chloe didn't really feel any better, and by her continued silence, director Shepard apparently sensed this. "Tell you what. I'll even have my own medical examiner handle your physical."

"Medical examiner?" Chloe echoed in confusion. "Don't they handle dead bodies?" The woman's chuckle in response to this sounded amused and it was a relief to hear.

"I assure you, Dr. Mallard is a fully practicing physician. He's completely professional and his bedside manner is first rate. I wouldn't even trust my own family doctor better." Chloe couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"Alright…" She said with a note of hesitation. The idea of having a doctor checking her out was not exactly on the top of her most desirable things to do list. "When do you want me to start?"

"I don't care what you say, Smallville!!" Lois' loud voice made Chloe cringe. It had been loud enough for the director on the other end of the line to hear her, because it made her pause in what she was about to say in response to Chloe's question. "Chloe's farewell party WILL involve male strippers and that's final!!!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport." The female voice came through the speaker, snapping Chloe out of her revelry. She hadn't even noticed the plane touching down on the tarmac. She'd been lost in thought about all that she was leaving behind; her friends, her family, her town… and she was here already… half way across the country… to start a new career. And she was alone. The thought was more than a little scary. Moving along with the crowd from her plane, she made her way to baggage claim and waited for her two suitcases to arrive. Lois had fussed over the state of her luggage, telling her that her bags would get lost in the massive load of luggage, simply because her suitcases were black; like 90 percent of all suitcases used by airline passengers these days. She'd said Chloe needed something to make them stand out when they hit the carrier belts. So, without so much as a warning, Lois had tied a pair of bright orange plastic ribbons on the handles of Chloe's suitcases.

"There!" She'd told Chloe with a beaming smile, ignoring the look of revolted horror on her cousin's face. "I'd love to see them try to lose your luggage now!" As it turned out, Lois had been right. Every suitcase that came out on to the carrier belt from her flight seemed to be either black, charcoal, or such a pitch dark navy color that it looked almost black. Giving a little sigh, Chloe stood back while the eager passengers from her flight lunged for the carrier belts to see if that particular black suitcase was theirs. And then she saw it! A flash of bright orange that was so striking, she saw it across the entire length of the carrier belt. Yup, those were her suitcases alright! She dove for the throng of people and yanked the suitcases off the belt. The sea of people parted, like the red sea before Moses, and there were looks of sheer horror on people's faces as the stared at the orange plastic ribbons on Chloe's suitcases. They even leaned a bit away from the pretty blond as she made her way through the throng again with her luggage, as if they were afraid the suitcases might contain something horrendously poisonous. It didn't dawn on Chloe till this point, when she stood in baggage claim, having just rescued her suitcases from the carrier belt, that she had no idea where she was supposed to go, or even how she was supposed to get there. She looked around, feeling a little lost. The director had told her that she'd be sending someone to pick her up at the airport, but she wasn't seeing anyone around that looked military enough to fit the bill. Switching on her cell phone, she flicked through the list of recently dialed numbers, finding the director's number at the very bottom of the list. Maybe she should call and ask for more info?

"Ms. Sullivan?" Came a male voice from behind her, making her jump with a startled gasp and whirl around. Standing before her was a man in his early 40's, wearing a suit and a small smile. "Sorry about that, ma'am. Didn't mean to startle you." Did he just call her 'ma'am'?! That guy was definitely government! That and the black suit were a dead giveaway!

"It's okay." Chloe let out a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I'm Kevin Conroy, ma'am, Director Shepard's driver." The man pulled out a leather wallet of some kind, opening it up to reveal his federal identification. Chloe took her time to look the ID over carefully. There was the NCIS logo… and… Oh yeah, it sure as hell looked legit. "Director Shepard sent me to pick you up and bring you NCIS. She'd like to see you as soon as possible, ma'am."

"Oh… Okay." Chloe really wasn't sure if she should take this guy's word for it, but something told her that a nutcase really wouldn't go to all this trouble just to kidnap some stranger who'd just come off a plane. And besides, how would a nutcase know all that this guy had just mentioned without even laying an eye on her before? She got ready to grab her suitcases, but the driver stepped up.

"No no. Allow me, ma'am." He moved over and took Chloe's Suitcases for her. Feeling a little bewildered, Chloe stepped back.

"Uh… thank you…" She stammered.

"This way, please, ma'am." Kevin smiled and indicated the way to the front exit. When they stepped out of the terminal, the bright morning sun hit Chloe's eyes like a truck. Shielding her eyes, she donned her sunglasses and looked around. Everywhere she looked there were taxies and busses either loading or unloading passengers and luggage. Looking directly in front of her, however, she didn't see just any old taxi cab or a bus. No, Kevin was opening the trunk of a shiny pitch black Lincoln with government plates. Gaping, Chloe slowly lowered her sunglasses down her nose, looking over the rim of them. Was this for real?! As Kevin loaded Chloe's suitcases into the trunk, he smirked as her fingered the orange plastic ribbon on one of the handles.

"Oh… yeah… My cousin Lois. She tied them on there to make my bags… stand out." Chloe chuckled as she spoke, trying to make it sound as if she thought the whole thing was silly; when, in fact, it had come in pretty handy.

"Good idea." Kevin smiled, closing the trunk. "What with every piece of luggage looking almost identical these days, it's a very good idea." Kevin moved over to the side of the car, opening the back door and smiling at Chloe. "Ma'am." This was something Chloe definitely wasn't used to! She thanked Kevin as she got into the car and was immediately surprised by the plush interior of her ride. As Kevin closed the door behind her and got behind the wheel, Chloe took in the leather seats, the obviously freshly deep vacuumed carpets… and was that a crystal carafe over there, in a case between the front seats? With a pair of crystal glasses? And what was in that carafe, whiskey? Chloe felt overwhelmed. She was definitely in another world, here! The car started moving, which surprised Chloe, because she really hadn't heard the car start up.

The ride was not a very long one, but Chloe spent it with her nose almost flat against the window, taking in the sights. She felt like a kid in a candy store! She was in a new city, driving around in a car that would have put the Luther's limos to shame, and she was on her way to start her new career! To say she was excited, and nervous, was a drastic understatement.

Pulling up at the naval yard, the car stopped at a checkpoint at the gate. Kevin talked to the marine who'd walked up to the car, and Chloe noticed another marine walking around the car holding a mirror on a long pole, using it to check underneath the car. It felt a little unnerving when Chloe realized why the marine was doing that. He was checking for bombs! Jesus! What was this world coming to?! A moment later Chloe noticed a marine standing outside her window, giving her a signal to roll her window down, to which Chloe hurried to comply.

"Identification, ma'am?" The marine asked, and Chloe was surprised at the lack of command in the man's tone. All the military people she'd encountered had that bark of a tone when they spoke to you, almost as if they were constantly giving you orders.

"It's alright, Ms. Sullivan." Kevin told her over his shoulder. "They just need to see your driver's license or any other form of identification. It's a formality. So they can log that it was really you I brought back." Nodding in understanding, Chloe quickly fished out her driver's license, handing it to the marine, who took his time looking it over.

"Thank you, Ms. Sullivan." The marine handed her driver's license back to her. "You have a nice day, ma'am." He finished with a small smile as he stepped back and gave the all clear to the marine at the gate. As the car neared the entrance, Chloe noticed a large block, about 3 feet high, seemingly made of bricks, which bore a large metal plaque. It read "NCIS" in big bold letters, with a smaller lettering underneath it, which read "Naval Criminal Investigative Service". She was here! She was finally here! Chloe felt her heart rate speed up. Oh my god… this was it! This was really it! The car came to a stop at the entrance and Kevin got out, opening the door for her. Chloe hesitantly stepped out, taking in the brick building before her. Obviously designed to look official, the building had a bit of an ominous look about it. A criminal entering this building could be sure that they would not be getting off easy; that much was for damn sure!

"The director's assistant will meet you in the lobby, Ms. Sullivan." Kevin said as he closed the car door behind her. "I'll keep your suitcases in the trunk. They'll be safe there until I drop you off at your apartment."

"Okay…" Chloe replied, feeling her knees getting a little wobbly. "Thanks." She gave the driver a smile, one that he returned with an added reply of "No problem, ma'am." Then he was off… and Chloe was alone again. Taking another look at the building before her, Chloe had this uncomfortable feeling that the building was staring back at her; studying her… almost looming over her! She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Alright, Sullivan! Time to move! One foot in front of the other. You can do it. With her mental encouragement complete, Chloe moved toward the entrance. She'd just walked into the lobby, heading for the check in desk, when…

"Ms. Sullivan?" A female voice this time made Chloe jump for the second time this morning. She whirled around and was met by a young African American woman, who was smiling at her. Jesus Christ! Did these people have a degree in sneaking up on people?! "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." The woman gave a little wince.

"It's okay…" Chloe managed a chuckle, placing a hand over her chest and smiling at her own jumpiness. "I'm just a little…" She gave a little wave as if to indicate the entire scene around her. "I think the word overwhelmed fits in here pretty nicely." she laughed. The woman's smile returned and she gave a little laugh of her own.

"I understand completely." The woman held out her hand to Chloe. "Welcome to NCIS. I'm Cynthia; director Shepard's personal assistant." Chloe shook the woman's hand, feeling very relieved. Finally someone she could relate to! Someone who didn't call her ma'am, or make her feel like they were about to salute her. "If you would just follow me, we can get you signed in and ready to roll." And she was using language that made sense! Oh, Chloe loved this woman already! Cynthia led Chloe to the sign in desk where Chloe had to verify who she was… again… and sign herself into her meeting with the director. That being done, Cynthia handed her a visitor's badge, which Chloe clipped on to her jacket, and they were off. Into the bowels of the beast!

Chloe had to pass through a security gate, stepping through a metal detector, and after her second trip through, after the damned thing beeped at her again, a female marine went over her with a metal detecting wand. She had her purse x-rayed and everything in it meticulously scrutinized by a marine glaring at a screen like it had offended him greatly. Hell, even her cell phone was x-rayed separately, like they were expecting it to contain a bomb or some kind of remote control device to detonate one. A cold shiver ran down Chloe's back as she realized that it was undoubtedly exactly 'that' that the guy glaring at the monitor was looking for. She was in a whole new world! One that she knew absolutely nothing about! Having finally cleared security, Cynthia led Chloe on toward an elevator and they stepped inside. On the way up, Chloe kept staring at the indicator lights above the door. She felt antsy. Like she had this huge load of stored up energy bubbling inside her that she had no idea what to do with or how to release.

"Nervous?" Cynthia's kind voice brought Chloe back to the real world.

"Intrigued… Impressed… " Chloe tried to cover for the fact that Cynthia had hit the mark, dead on. Yes, she was nervous! Who wouldn't be?! Cynthia gave her a small knowing smile. There was no fooling this one. "That obvious, huh?" Chloe winced, giving an embarrassed smile.

"A little." Cynthia's smile grew wider. "It's perfectly natural, though. It's kind of overwhelming, I know. Still, I think you're handling it really well. The first time I showed up in the Naval Yard, it took me three attempts just to get through the front door." Chloe gave a little laugh at that, feeling very relieved. Thank god she wasn't the only one! "It'll be fine. Just try to relax and just be yourself. That's all that can be asked of you. Of any of us, for that matter."

"Thanks" Chloe smiled. No sooner had she spoken than the elevator came to a stop with a ding. They had arrived! Cynthia stepped out and Chloe followed her. They arrived at a level filled with cubicles, occupied by people doing everything from typing to talking on the phone to discussing something while staring at a monitor to joking around. Chloe took as much of it in as she could. This was not exactly what she'd expected when she'd read through the folder. Everybody looked so… normal. Where were the black suits and the dark shades? Where were the trench coats and the intimidating brutes with names like Joey and Louie for backup? They passed a rather large open space that had four desks aligned in a rectangular pattern, two on two, facing each other. One of the desks, the one with all the monitors on it, was vacant. The one opposite that one had a young guy in a jacket shirt and tie, looking like the poster child for a young rooky special agent, typing away on his keyboard and occasionally rolling his eyes at the happenings of the last two desks in the pattern. Occupying one of them, right next to the one with all the monitors on it, was a young woman. She was pretty and looked Middle-Eastern. The desk opposite hers, the one next to the typing guy, was occupied by a young man who looked extremely confident. From his looks and the way he carried himself, Chloe would have guessed he had a bit of Italian in him. The Italian guy and the Middle-Eastern woman were having a little verbal spat.

"Do we really need to have this conversation, Tony?!" The woman said with an air of having had just about enough of… whatever they were discussing.

"Actually, yes we do, Ziva." The Italian guy… Tony… God, could this be anymore cliché… replied. "See that desk?" Tony was pointing at the desk with all the monitors on it, "See anyone sitting there? No. The boss is out. This makes 'me', as the senior field agent, the guy in charge." The smug smile on Tony's face caused the woman, Ziva, to narrow her eyes at him and tighten her jaw. Chloe felt a shiver run down her spine. That woman looked deadly! Hell, she looked like a pissed off assassin, to be honest. Chloe made a mental note to try anything in her power not to piss that one off, if she ever ran into her again. Cynthia led Chloe up a flight of stairs, directly behind Tony's desk… and Chloe noticed that they had an audience. The typing guy occupying the desk next to Tony's had turned around a bit in his seat and was looking up at her, an obvious curiosity as to her identity in his eyes. The guy seemed nice enough, so Chloe gave him a tiny smile. The guy had obviously not been expecting this, if his look of mild surprise was any indication, but he did give her a tiny smile back before turning back to his typing. Way to go, Sullivan. Not in the building an hour and already caught a guy's eye. Okay, so it wasn't a marriage proposal, but you gotta take what you can get, right? Cynthia led Chloe through a door on the upper level, into what looked like an office/waiting room with a door adjacent to the one they'd just entered through.

"Just a moment." Cynthia smiled at Chloe and knocked on the other door.

"Yes?" Came a female voice from inside and Cynthia stuck her head in.

"Ms. Sullivan's here, director."

"Good. Thank you, Cynthia. Would you send her in, please?" That was the director's voice alright. Cynthia opened the door fully, smiling at Chloe and indicating for her to enter. Chloe had to steady herself. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out again. Okay… one foot in front of the other… That's it… You can do this. She slowly made her way to the door and hesitated in the doorway, leaning forward to peek through the door. And there she was! Jenny Shepard; director of NCIS! Sitting behind her desk with a pair of glasses perched on her nose; same flaming red hair… same confidence in her whole demeanor. "Ms. Sullivan." The director said before she looked up; locking her gaze on Chloe, and a small smirk graced her lips. "Please, come in."

"Director Shepard." Chloe replied with a nervous smile as a way of greeting and moved further into the room.

"Can I get you anything?" Cynthia said from the doorway.

"Not for me, thank you." The director replied.

"Ms. Sullivan?" Cynthia addressed Chloe, who really hadn't expected being asked.

"Oh. No, thank you." Chloe replied. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Thank you, Cynthia. That'll be all." The director nodded toward her assistant, who departed, closing the door behind her. And there Chloe was… alone in the director's office. And she was nervous as hell! "Please," the director spoke up, "have a seat, Ms. Sullivan." She indicated a chair in front of her desk, which Chloe sat down in; feeling like her heart was in her throat. "How was the flight?" The director's question caught Chloe off guard. She hadn't expected to have to discuss things like her flight upon arrival.

"Fine. Thank you." She replied. "It was a little bumpy at times, but other than that… it was fine." She tried her best to smile. It came out a little forced, though. The woman took a moment to watch Chloe, which was something that didn't really make the young blonde feel any more at ease.

"I received your paperwork yesterday." Director Shepard glanced down at the papers she'd been going through upon Chloe's entry, running her finger along the now closed folder. "I've just been reviewing it." Chloe tried very hard not to squirm in her seat as her green eyes flicked over to the folder in question, wondering if anything about her… abnormality was mentioned in there. "It's a very interesting read. You filled out every questionnaire we sent you to the smallest detail." The woman looked back at Chloe, almost as if she was studying her. The questionnaires she'd mentioned had been sent to Chloe by special delivery one day, with strict instructions that they be filled out as soon as possible because they'd be picked up the morning after. Needless to say, Chloe had complained bitterly about writing cramps during her farewell party. "I was impressed at how you didn't leave anything out. Most of our people have tended to skip a few things or simply 'forgotten' a question or two. You're very thorough, Ms. Sullivan. That's something that will make you a great asset to this agency."

"Thank you…" Chloe really didn't know how to respond to that. She felt immensely flattered… but the director's gaze, which was now locked on her, really didn't make her feel like she could enjoy it. And then there was the overwhelming sensation that the other shoe was about to drop.

"However…" Speak of the devil! "There was one point that caught my attention." Opening the folder, the director went through the papers before her. Chloe felt really uncomfortable seeing this. The woman basically had Chloe's whole life in front of her! Having located the sheet of paper she was looking for, the director scanned it with her gaze. "You mentioned almost nothing in regards to your mother." She glanced back up at Chloe, who swallowed hard. Oh hell! Her mom! "All you wrote was that she is hospitalized at the present. Why is that?" Chloe looked down at her hands cradled in her lap. Damn it! Of all the things to get stuck on, they had to pick the one thing she had no control over!

"Director, I…" Chloe swallowed hard, feeling a lump appearing in her throat. How could she explain this? "When I say that she's hospitalized…" She faltered, doubting if she could really divulge her mother's condition. Should she do it? It would most assuredly affect the director's opinion of her qualifications for the job. Of that, Chloe was damned sure!

"Yes, Ms. Sullivan?" The director queried. "Is there something you wish to add?" A part of Chloe's mind was telling her to keep her big mouth shut. It was no business of this woman's what the condition of Chloe's mother was! Another part of her mind was telling her to level with the director. She had offered her so much in ways of a career. One letter from this woman could make Chloe's whole life! And yet, one letter from this woman could also destroy it. What overrode all these arguments, however, was one simple fact… Chloe was proud of her mother! She had risked everything to keep Chloe safe, and Chloe would be damned if she'd besmirch her mother's honor by hiding the truth like a coward! If the truth cost her this position… then so be it!

"My mother…" Chloe paused again, feeling the pain of her last meeting with her mother resurface. The last time she'd been able to speak to her… to feel her warm hand against her cheek… the last time she heard her say she loved her and that she was proud of her… and then seeing her fade away into the vast abyss of a near comatose state. She felt the sting of unshed tears. "My mother…" she nearly whispered, hating how her voice trembled, "checked herself into the psychiatric ward of Metropolis General in 1995." Chloe's gaze traveled upwards to meet the director's and no matter how she tried to smother the raw pain she was feeling, she couldn't do it. Not completely. And to Chloe's surprise, director Shepard's demeanor seemed to soften. "She'd been suffering from blackouts, where she'd get lost in her own mind for ever increasing periods of time… and she eventually checked herself in after one of her… 'episodes'… nearly got me injured." Okay… so it wasn't the whole truth. But it wasn't a complete lie, either. Hell, it was basically what her mom's hospital records said! No, it wasn't a lie. More like an abbreviated version of the truth. But abbreviated or not… it didn't hurt any less! Director Shepard took a moment and put the sheet back in the folder before closing it. To Chloe's sinking heart, she wasn't looking at her anymore.

"Ms. Sullivan…" the director removed her glasses and paused, almost as if she were trying to figure out the best way to say something that wasn't very easy for her to say. Chloe nodded, understanding what was going on. And at the realization, she felt the first tear escape her eye.

"It's okay." Chloe managed to catch the tear before it made any real mess of her makeup. "I get it." She tried to smile, but failed miserably. "It's a factor that one really doesn't want to see on an applicant's form." The woman looked up at her and shook her head.

"No. No, you misunderstand…" Chloe cut off the woman's words by getting up from her seat. She didn't want to hear the excuses or the 'reasons' for why she wasn't eligible for the job anymore.

"Thank you for the opportunity, director Shepard." Chloe said hurriedly, trying to be as polite as she could. This was becoming too much for her. She needed to get out of there! "I'm sorry I couldn't live up to the expectations and the praise."

"Wait, Ms. Sullivan…" Chloe quickly turned and headed for the door. She needed to leave! Right now! She didn't care that she had virtually no idea how to get back outside without an escort, or what she'd do once she'd managed to clear the building. She had to get out!

"Thank you for your time…" Chloe's voice actually cracked on the last word.

"Chloe!" The sound of the director addressing her by her first name stopped Chloe dead in her tracks, her hand on the doorknob of the still closed door. It hadn't sounded like an order… but more like an official attempt to catch her attention. One that worked! All throughout their exchange, both during this meeting and prior to it, over the phone or in Grant Gabriel's office, director Shepard had never addressed her as 'Chloe'… it had always been 'Ms. Sullivan'. Chloe hesitantly turned her head toward the director's desk, only to see the woman on her feet behind her desk, looking at her.

"Please… Ms. Sullivan. There's a reason I asked you about this particular point." The woman's voice was back to her normal tone. Chloe didn't budge, but rather remained perfectly still where she was, waiting for what was to come. It had to be something big. "I already know about your mother's condition." Chloe's brow furrowed in confusion. Okay… she had not expected to hear that.

"What…?" Chloe stared at the woman with a mixture of disbelief, shock, and a little outrage. She moved away from the door, taking a few steps toward the desk. "You already knew…?"

"We do background checks on all our applicants."

"You checked up on me?!" Chloe couldn't believe what she was hearing! "Who gave you the right to dig into my life?" What else had they dug up about her?!

"It's standard procedure. Actually, it's naval regulation."

"So why did you bother asking me about my mother if you already knew?!" Okay, you're raising your voice, Sullivan! Down girl!

"I was testing you." The woman confessed confidently.

"For what?!"

"Honesty, Ms. Sullivan." Chloe blinked in surprise at this. "A gifted writer such as you can very easily write her way into a job, using some very creative writing. It's not as easy to do so when you're sitting face to face with the person who can either give you said job, or take it away." Chloe could see where the director was coming from… to a point at least. "I had to be sure."

"Sure of what, exactly?"

"I'm responsible for the integrity of this agency, Ms. Sullivan. With all due respect, reporters can be extremely vicious. They can make or break a person in a hundred words or less. I wouldn't allow them within fifty feet of the front gates if I could help it. Just by letting you through the door, I'm taking a 'very' big risk. Understand, Ms. Sullivan, that by granting you this position, I'm bringing you into the very core of this agency, granting you access to databases that contain information that could destroy thousands upon thousands of lives if they fell into the wrong hands. I had to be sure that your heart was in the right place."

"And is it?" The director smirked at this question.

"You didn't lie to me about your mother, did you?" Chloe watched the woman behind the desk carefully, choosing to remain quiet. "Even though you knew that the very fact that she was hospitalized due to psychological means could affect your chances at getting the position, you told me the truth." The woman nodded slowly, studying Chloe's eyes from across the desk. "Maddie was right about you. You're one in a billion. One of the last surviving honest reporters." Chloe blinked a few times, not knowing what to say to this. The director opened Chloe's folder again, taking out a sheet of paper and handing it to her. "The schedule for your remaining examinations." Chloe took the sheet of paper and looked it over. It had today's date on it and a list of things that she was to be tested on. Weapon's knowledge, psych evaluation, stamina, strength, a complete medical examination… Claustrophobia?! And it appeared that all of them had to be completed today! She looked back up at the director.

"Wait… I still get the job?" She had to admit, she was a little confused. The director smirked again.

"There was never any risk that you wouldn't get it. The job was yours the moment you accepted that folder in Mr. Gabriel's office."

"But… what about the test of honesty just now? What if I'd failed that one?"

"You wouldn't have failed it." The woman said as she sat back down, leaning back in her seat and crossing her legs. "Maddie wouldn't have recommended you if you were the same viper as 98 percent of the reporters out there." Half of Chloe was flattered; the other half was highly insulted at the vicious shot the woman had taken at her fellows in the profession. "Do you know why I created this position, Ms. Sullivan?"

"No. That's what's been bothering me this whole time." Chloe confessed. "I mean, you have an entire media department to deal with whatever problems may arise with the press, right? So why would you need a civilian reporter in the field?"

"One of my agents had a run in with members of the press when he and his team arrived at a crime scene. The case in question was considered highly newsworthy due to the fact that it happened during the taping of a reality show that was based on marine training." Recognition dawned on Chloe. She remembered hearing something about a show like this. What was it called again…? Something about supermodels in bootcamp. "It resulted in a very embarrassing soundbite being aired on the six o'clock news." the director continued. "The soundbite turned out to have been doctored before it aired, as a way of making the story sound more interesting." Chloe could not contain a wince at that. What kind of story hungry snake doctors their own story?! "To her credit, the reporter responsible for it eventually apologized and the network made amends." The director watched Chloe for a moment in silence. "I created the position of Civilian Field Media Attaché to prevent a similar incident from happening again, and I needed someone expertly qualified to fill it. The only problem is, that the members of my media department are used to giving statements to the press and filing reports in writing. When it comes to dealing with the onslaught of the frenzied story hungry press, however, while they're not exactly out of their league, they're rather a little out of practice. And that, Ms. Sullivan, is where you come in."

"Okay, uh…" Chloe made an attempt at chuckling as she tried to wrap her mind around what she was hearing. "Director Shepard… I don't know what you may have heard about me, but… I'm not exactly an expert at dealing with rapid fire questions being thrown at me by the media." The woman's lips slowly curled into a knowing smile.

"Maybe not, Ms. Sullivan. But you know their game." Chloe frowned in confusion, opening her mouth to reply… but nothing came out. What was she playing at? "You are up to date on how reporters operate. You know their rules, their guidelines, and the desperation they feel when it comes to getting a story ahead of everyone else. You know what they are capable of and how low they are willing to sink to get what they want. You know which words and what tone of voice to use in order to avoid soundbites being doctored. And you know all this because you've worked side by side with them. You've seen them in action first hand, from their side of the line. And you've done so without losing your honesty or your integrity. 'That' is what makes you the only person qualified for this position, Ms. Sullivan."

"So… What you're saying is…" Chloe hesitated, watching the director carefully.

"If you don't know the game, you get someone on your side who does. Someone who's not intimidated by the methods being used." Chloe nodded slowly, feeling the pieces fitting into place in her mind.

"So this is why I'm here. As leverage against the press." The director tilted her head a little.

"Not solely, no. You're also here because of your investigative abilities. The stories you've done for the Daily Planet have been very thorough and one would think you'd have had to do a lot of researching to come up with the things you did. We're always looking for good people that possess that quality. You also have fairly good knowledge of law enforcement, which, is essential in our line of work. I gather, you must have picked that knowledge up during the events that led to you being discovered at several suspected crime scenes, 'snooping around', as the police reports from the Smallville sheriff's department call it." Pausing for a moment, a slight look of amusement appeared on the director's face. "You're also here due to your rather adept… networking abilities."

"My what?" Chloe frowned in confusion.

"How did Maddie put it…?" the woman looked a little thoughtful for a moment, "she knows her way around a computer; especially the ones she's technically not supposed to get into." At the woman's knowing smirk, Chloe blanched. Oh shit! Not exactly the best compliment to receive. How did the director know about her hacking abilities?! For that mater… How did Madeline Khan know?!

"Uh… D- director Shepard…" Chloe stammered. "I- I can explain…"

"Explain what?" The director smirked up at her.

"You know, about what you just mentioned…"

"I don't recall mentioning anything." The director's smirk widened. Chloe blinked in confusion. Wait… didn't she just say that she knew about… Wait a minute… Oh… Oh!

"Plausible deniability." Chloe whispered, getting where this was going. "There's no record of any 'networking abilities' in my files, so… technically… they don't exist." the director gave a tiny little wink. Damn! This woman really knew her stuff!

"Now, about this position," the director got back on track, all evidence of the smirk gone from her face. "I'm going to need you to start as soon as you can." Chloe nodded, letting her face slip back into serious mode.

"I think I should warn you… the actual forensics package…? I'm completely blank." Chloe confessed. "Collecting evidence, securing a crime scene… it's all Greek to me." Director Shepard chuckled at this.

"You'll learn. I have the utmost confidence in you and your abilities."

"Alright…" Chloe nodded and took a look at the schedule for her examinations. First on the list was her psych evaluation. "So…" she looked up again, "where do I go to get my head poked?"


	4. Chapter 4

Good god, she was tired! The examinations she'd gone through today had taken a serious toll on her. Chloe couldn't even find the words to describe how relieved she was that she only had her physical left before this torment was over. She'd been dragged through the most grueling experience she could ever have imagined today. It all started with her fingerprints being copied for her file and her picture being taken for her ID. The psychiatrist had asked her the most ridiculous questions and had her look at what felt like a thousand and one ink blots, resulting in the whole lot of them melting together and making them all look the same. For her test of strength and stamina she'd been put through the most rigorous workout she'd ever gone through in her life, making her feel like her heart was about to pop out of her chest with an overnight bag and tell her to give it a call once the torment was over. The fear of heights test and the claustrophobia test had been very interesting… being shoved, blindfolded, into a maze that felt like a ventilation shaft had never really appealed to her, and neither had she ever wanted to climb town a five story building on the outside of the balconies using a ten step aluminum ladder that she had to move down after each floor. And let's not forget the psychotic marine who nearly took her head off trying to see if she could defend herself in hand to hand combat. She'd been given a polygraph, which had been very embarrassing to say the least, but nothing beat the weapon's handling test! That had been horrific! Chloe had managed to make the throwing knife stick in the target on her second try... the only problem was that she'd been off center by about two feet... and her shoulder still ached from a big black canon of firearm called a 'SIG' trying to dislocate said shoulder during the firearms test. Chloe didn't care what it was called, to her it was just a big black gun that packed one hell of a punch, and was just about as likely to injure her as it was of injuring her target if Chloe happened to fire it. She felt SOOO out of her league, it wasn't even funny! One thing she 'had' managed to pick up on her first try, however, was how to reload a gun and how to secure it. That was something, at least. Chloe stepped out off the elevator, and her guide indicated a set of metal double doors with a window set in each panel. Oh joy, her last examination, and she'd be done.

"Dr. Mallard is expecting you, ma'am." the marine told her with a small smile. "Just trough there."

"Thanks." Chloe returned the tiny smile and stepped toward the door; it slid open with a hiss upon her approach. Stepping carefully inside, Chloe looked around and felt a little unnerved when she realized that she'd stepped right into the middle of a large autopsy room. It was spotless. The metal tables were so clean; they were gleaming in the light of the room. She stopped as her gaze found the triple layer of body storage chambers at the end of the room, and instinctively, her mind flashed back to the time when she'd found herself waking up inside one in the morgue at Smallvile's medical center. It was a very unnerving flashback; of an experience she 'really' didn't want to have again.

"Ah, Ms. Sullivan, I presume." Came a friendly English accented male voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a bespectacled man in his 60's and wearing a white doctor's coat over his normal clothes of a shirt and a pair of dress pants entering the room from a door behind her. Chloe noticed, to her amusement, that not only was he wearing suspenders, but also a perfectly tied bowtie. Old school. Very nice.

"Yes. That would be me." Chloe replied with a smile. "Dr. Mallard?" She extended her hand toward him.

"No need to stand on formalities, my dear." The man smiled gently at her, taking her hand in both of his and looking in her eyes. "Please, call me Ducky." Chloe couldn't help the amused giggle that escaped her. There was a certain mischief in the good doctor's eyes, one born of pure delight and the love for his work, she was sure.

"Only if you call me Chloe; Ducky." She smiled at him. This amused the doctor, making him chuckle.

"I would be delighted; Chloe. Welcome to my humble workstation." He swept his hand as if to indicate the room. Humble? Yeah right! The doctors back in Smallville would have sold their souls for working conditions like this. "Please," Ducky indicated the nearest autopsy table, "Have a seat, my dear, and we can get started." There was a little stepping stool on the floor next to the table which made the whole motion of sitting on said table much easier. To Chloe's surprise, it felt quite comfortable sitting there. Dr. Mallard went over to his desk and returned with a rather thick file. Chloe gave a little wince as she realized what it might contain. This, undoubtedly, was her medical history. Funny… she really hadn't thought she'd been in the hospital 'that' many times. "I received your medical history yesterday," Ducky started, opening the file and smirking, "It's… quite extensive, I must say."

"Yeah…" Chloe laughed nervously. "I've been a little accident prone in my day. To my credit, though, I have gotten better. No more tripping over rugs or anything." The joke worked… to some extent. The good doctor chuckled, closed the file, brought it to his chest, and watched her with a studying gaze for a moment. "So, uh…" Chloe started, feeling a little uncomfortable. "What… exactly does this physical entail?"

"The usual." The doctor replied. "Blood pressure, a full set of x-rays, temperature, vision, hearing, blood tests… Imagine your first visit to your new family doctor." Chloe squirmed a little in her seat. She really didn't care too much for medical examinations. "I have all your medical records, but I feel the need to start afresh. Get the full set first hand. That way, we have your most recent results on file. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yeah… I think so." Chloe replied with a nervous smile. "So… a family doctor type checkup, right?"

"Exactly." The doctor smiled at her. "Oh!" He held up a finger as if he'd just remembered something. Opening her file, he rooted around for a moment. "There was… one thing… I thought I might… ask you about…" He spoke while he turned page after page of the thick folder. Chloe winced as he pulled out a sheet of paper. "Ah. Here we are." He scanned the sheet quickly before looking at her again. Uh-oh… He'd found something! "I kept coming across the same note in all your previous blood test results."

"Uh, a note?" Chloe feigned ignorance, even though she could well imagine what the doctor had just discovered.

"Yes…" The doctor dragged out the word as he scanned the sheet of paper again. "Every blood test performed on you in recent times has shown microscopic amounts of an unidentified substance." Oh shit!! The meteor rocks!! He'd picked up on the meteor infection in her blood!! This was bad!! She should have known better than to think a decent doctor wouldn't have picked up on it!! "And yet… your doctors make nothing of it. Can you imagine why that may be?" Ducky was watching her again.

"I…" Now it was her turn to drag out the word, "can't really say… doctor." She plastered a bright smile on her face, one that she hoped was convincing. Ducky was watching her dubiously. He opened his mouth and drew in a breath, obviously to comment on this, when he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

"Is she here yet?! Did I miss her?! Ducky! Is she…?!" The person who entered locked eyes on Chloe, stopping mid sentence. This person looked very… uhm… out of place, to say the least. It was a tall young woman with pitch black hair tied in thin pigtails. She wore a white lap coat over her clothes that were… well… anything other than Chloe would have expected to see someone in here wearing! Blood red baggy pants with thin chains looping from belt loop to belt loop… a studded belt… a black t-shirt so tight Chloe could almost count the woman's ribs through it, emblazoned with a skull and crossbones… wait… was the skull wearing a pink hair bow? And was it winking? She had black nail polish, dark makeup that made her dark eyes look even deeper… and she was wearing a studded leather choker! And a pair of stomper boots! Chloe realized just what she was looking at. She was seeing a Goth… in a lab coat! Now she'd seen everything! "Whoa…!" The young woman whispered, staring at Chloe with wide eyes as if she'd seen something completely unexpected. Her voice was a little raspy, which only added to the extraordinary picture of the person Chloe was seeing before her. "Ducky…?" The woman stage whispered, even going so far as to lean a little in Ducky's direction, "Is that her?" Chloe arched an eyebrow. She was not used to being talked about when she was actually 'in' the room, and within hearing distance. The good doctor sighed in exasperation.

"Please forgive Abigail, Chloe. She's been very excited about meeting you, ever since word of your arrival reached her lab." The woman smacked Ducky's arm and scowled at him.

"Don't call me Abigail!" She reprimanded him with a grin. The doctor chuckled good-naturedly.

"Forgive me, 'Abby'." He emphasized the name with that same good-natured humor. The young woman, Abby, beamed happily at him. "Chloe Sullivan, I'd like you to meet our most esteemed forensics specialist, Abby Sciuto." Chloe turned her gaze back to Abby, feeling completely baffled. 'This' was their forensics expert?! Abby turned her attention to Chloe, her awe and curiosity obvious in her eyes. "Abby, meet Chloe; the new civilian field media attaché."

"Hi." Chloe gave Abby a little wave as she smiled at her. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi…" Abby replied, still staring at her. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but paused, looking a little confused. "You're from Smallville, right?" She finally asked.

"Uh… yeah… why?" Chloe didn't quite understand what was going on. It wasn't exactly a question she'd been expecting.

"It's just…" Abby stopped and then shook her head vigorously, which made her pigtails swing rapidly around her head, and waved her hands a little in front of herself like she was trying to erase something. "Nevermind. Forget it."

"No; what?" Chloe was getting curious herself now.

"It's just… I… kind of expected you to look… I dunno… different." Abby gave Chloe's sitting form a sweep, looking a little disappointed. Chloe grinned, knowing where this was going. Smallville had a reputation for being weird central; second only to Area 51. Chloe's Wall of Weird back in high school had proven that much.

"Oh. You mean… Oh, I get it." Chloe played along. "No. Sorry. I never let my horns out before nightfall. The tail just gets in the way when I'm sitting down and the green skin and glowing eyes thing? Tends to freak people out." She tried to keep a straight face; really, she did… but the humor of this whole thing was just too much. Abby grinned back at her, nodding.

"I like her." She wagged a finger in Chloe's direction, addressing Ducky. "She's cool. Not a lot of people would be this laid back about their hometown weirdness."

"Hometown what?" Ducky said, obviously confused as hell. Abby looked at Ducky, staring at him like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You don't know?!" She gaped.

"Know what?"

"About the weirdness happening in the heart of Kansas! People with strange powers appearing in a small town in the middle of the nation's heartland!" Ducky just shrugged, looking completely lost. "Smallville, Ducky!!" Abby cried. "The sight of two, count'em, 'two'," she held up two fingers as if to make sure Ducky wouldn't misunderstand the number being mentioned, "meteor showers, 'exactly' 16 years apart!"

"I can't see what's so special about that." Ducky replied, much to Abby's gaping shock. "Meteor particles are constantly bombarding the earth, none of them actually making it through into our atmosphere. Did you know, that in 1758 the people of Pakistan witnessed a streak of bright light streaking across the sky and…"

"No!" Abby cut him off in a shrill voice, looking thoroughly upset that he didn't get her point. "I'm talking meteor rocks from deep space, hurtling into the ground at hundreds of miles per hour! Killing dozens of people! Big ass, huge boulders the size of your car! Well… maybe not 'your' car, Ducky… more like Gibbs' car."

"Are you making light of the size of my Morgan, Ms. Sciuto?" Ducky asked in his dignified British manner.

"No…" Abby replied innocently. "It's just… The frame of your car is made of wood. The frame of Gibbs' car is made of pure steel. Kinda gives the analogy a little extra 'oomph', y'know?"

"Quite." Ducky replied dryly and turned back to Chloe with a roll of his eyes. Chloe had to fight with everything she had not to start laughing. These people were a hoot and a half!

"So did you see'em?" Abby had rounded on Chloe, beaming at her excitedly. "The meteor showers, I mean. Did you see'em? What were they like? Tell me everything."

"Abby. If you please, I'm trying to conduct a medical examination of Ms. Sullivan for her files." Ducky sounded a tad bit annoyed.

"Oh. Right. Okay. I'll stand back here then." Abby moved three steps back. "So? What was it like?" Ducky sighed in exasperation.

"Ms. Sciuto. Will you please give us a moment to complete our work and then you may drill Ms. Sullivan for all the information she cares to share with you."

"It's okay, Ducky." Chloe replied with a small smile, before turning her gaze to Abby, who was literally bubbling over with excitement. "I was born in Metropolis, so I wasn't there when the '89 meteor shower hit. I didn't move to Smallville till I was in the eighth grade." Abby slumped a little, looking more than a little disappointed. "I was living there when the second shower hit, however." Chloe added.

"Oh! What was it like?!" Abby perked up again. Chloe's gaze slipped lower and to the side as her mind flicked through her memories of that fateful day. The day she'd been sucked into the tailwind of Clark's transport deep into the north… into the icy fortress of solitude. She remembered her own experiences. The freezing cold that nearly gnawed through her bones… Clark bringing her to the medical center in the Yukon, where the medical supplies were delivered via dog sleigh… And seeing the devastation of the meteor shower on live TV. The Kent's house torn apart by a Meteor slamming into the side of it.

"It was horrible." Chloe said finally, her voice low and hollow. The excited grin on Abby's face slipped and she blinked a few times, vacillating in place. "My best friend's house got slammed into by a meteor rock… his parents were home when it happened."

"Good lord…" Ducky whispered, having obviously taken interest in Chloe's tale.

"They survived… thank god… But his mother had to be kept in the hospital for a long time." Chloe shook her head slowly, the images she'd seen on TV and the aftermath she'd witnessed firsthand upon her return to Smallville flowing through her head. "People's lives were ruined that day. Lives that had taken 16 years to rebuild since the first meteor shower… Just… gone. Up in smoke. Buried in rubble." She looked up at Abby, seeing the young woman watching her with worried eyes. "I'm sorry to demolish the vision and the mystery of the whole thing, Abby. I can't tell you that it was great to have witnessed what happened that day. All I saw was the extreme danger… rocks the size of barns, weighing hundreds of tons, hurtling from the sky…destroying everything they touched… the devastating damage… the loss of life. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't spectacular… it was a nightmare; pure and simple." Abby looked down at her hands, looking a lot less excited than she had a moment ago. Chloe felt bad about ruining the grand vision Abby apparently had of the meteor showers, but she couldn't not tell her the truth about what had happened.

"Guess I always kind of just… saw the amazement factor of it." Abby said in a low voice, giving a one shouldered shrug. "You never really think of the bad stuff till you're faced with it." Chloe nodded, watching the goth with sympathetic eyes.

"It's natural to focus on the grandness factor." Chloe gave Abby a small smile. "To my knowledge, there haven't been meteor showers of this caliber within the Unites States since… well… ever, actually. In a way, it is amazing." Abby looked up, giving Chloe a small smile back.

"Friends?" Abby asked hopefully.

"Definitely." Chloe chuckled, her smile widening. She liked this woman! Abby was great!

"Cool!!" Abby beamed, rushing in and wrapping Chloe up in a big hug. Chloe was a little taken aback by the sudden show of affection, and it took her a moment to realize that it would be alright to hug Abby back; which she did.

"Pardon me." Ducky interrupted the tender moment. "But we do have something that requires attending to. Namely, Chloe's medical examination; without which, she will not be assigned her post. So, Abby, as much as I share your enthusiasm regarding your new-found friend…" he smirked at Chloe, "I feel I must stress the importance of getting through this procedure." Abby snickered at this.

"Sorry, Ducky. I'll get out of the way and you can poke and prod all you want."

"But not too hard." Chloe grinned. "Bruises are so last season." Ducky chuckled at that one, opening Chloe's file again. Abby grinned widely and winked at Chloe, who gave her a little wink back.

"Where was I…? Ah! Yes. The oddity that is your blood work."

"What oddity?" Abby looked very interested and looked over Ducky's shoulder at the sheet of paper he was holding.

"See here?" Ducky showed her the note on the microscopic amount of the 'unidentified substance'. Abby looked this over and frowned. "Odd, isn't it?"

"Not really." Abby's response caught Ducky's attention, and Chloe's! They both stared at her questioningly. "Well, it's obvious." Abby looked between the pair of them. "You're from Smallville." She indicated Chloe as if that comment alone explained everything. "Everyone from that area has microscopic amounts of an 'unidentified substance' in their bloodstream." She'd used air quotes when mentioning the unidentified substance. "Just look at the place. It's literally swarming with space rocks. They're everywhere; in the soil, in the water supply, in the grass that the livestock munches on, in the lakes you guys undoubtedly swim in during those hot summer days. You guys probably inhale more space dust in a year than anyone else anywhere on the planet does in their whole life. I'd be worried if you did 'not' have that little extra compound in your blood."

"So you're saying this is perfectly normal for someone from that area?" Ducky asked, baffled.

"Well yeah." Abby shrugged as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's only if you see an unusually high amount in someone's blood that you should worry."

"Oh? Why's that?" Ducky asked. The question made Abby grin. Uh-oh! This did not look good!

"Meteor freaks." Abby sounded a little triumphant. The all too familiar phrase made Chloe wince.

"Oh dear." Ducky turned away to disguise a roll of his eyes, and then headed for his desk.

"I'm serious, Ducky!" Abby fired up again, following him every step he took. "There have been eyewitness reports of people from that area doing some very hinky stuff!" Chloe frowned. What was that word she used? 'Hinky'? "We're talking mind control, telekinesis, making things burst into flames, sucking the heat from your body… Oh! Oh! Killing people using ordinary plant life!"

"Abby, as much as I enjoy your conspiracy theories, my dear…"

"They're not theories, Ducky! These are actual things! Things that have happened to actual people! Chloe! Back me up here!" Chloe's eyes went wide as Abby whirled around to stare at her in desperate anticipation.

"Uh… well…" Chloe really hadn't been expecting to be dragged into a discussion about the meteor infected.

"You've lived there since the eighth grade. You 'have' to have seen 'something' hinky!" Chloe opened her mouth to start spewing out denials… but then an idea struck her. She'd already demolished Abby's' vision of the greatness of the meteor showers… she didn't have the heart to take this away from her as well. A grin slowly spread across her lips.

"No comment." She said slyly, looking Abby directly in the eye. Abby stared at Chloe for a moment, blinking. As if Chloe's reply was still sinking in. Then her lips curled in a wicked smirk.

"That's not a denial." She said, wagging a finger in Chloe's direction.

"It's not a confirmation either." Ducky added with a smirk of his own. Chloe glanced over at him and saw him looking back at her, nodding and apparently looking very pleased. "I think you'll do just fine here."

After this, the physical went off without a hitch. Abby and Ducky were a riot to be around. Abby was so energetic and alive, and Ducky was the poster boy for knowledge and wisdom mixed with whit and gentlemanly behavior. Chloe laughed more in the time it took for Ducky to complete her physical than she had since leaving Smallville that morning.

The grueling day finally over, the director's driver gave Chloe a ride to her new apartment. NAVSUP had found her a cozy one bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of a very nice brownstone apartment building. It was just about the size of the apartment she and Lois had shared over the Talon, minus Lois's bedroom. All her furniture had already been brought in and so had all her other stuff. The movers had done a pretty good job at arranging her furniture for her. She saw a few things right off the bat that could use a bit of improvement design wise, but at the moment she didn't have it in her to do any form of redecorating. She was exhausted! She sighed and dragged her feet on her way into the bedroom. She had never been so relieved to see her bed! Pulling her cell phone out of her purse, she placed it on the nightstand and dropped the purse on the floor before she let herself drop onto the bare mattress and kicked off her shoes. She managed to snake out of her jacket and pull a blanket over herself as she curled up on her side. A single sigh later, Chloe Sullivan was fast asleep.

The sound of her cell phone ringing pulled her from her sound state of sleep, and she wasn't particularly happy about it. Groaning, Chloe rolled over and made a blind grab for her phone. The ring tone gave the caller away without Chloe even looking at the caller ID.

"Lois…!" Chloe moaned into the phone. "Calling me up this early in the morning is cruel! You have no idea of the day I had yesterday!"

"Early?" Came Lois' amused voice over the line. "It's 11 o'clock, Tinkerbelle. What, they made you run a marathon or something?" Chloe groaned, her tone more of a whine than anything else, and dropped her arm over her eyes.

"God, I wish!" She complained. "I had to complete all my tests and stuff in a single day! I was hardly off the plane before they started drilling me!"

"Awww! Poor baby!" Lois teased. "So? How's DC?"

"I repeat; I was hardly off the plane before I was dragged through hell itself. I've only seen DC from the air and during those two short car rides from the airport to the naval yard and from there to my apartment. All I can tell you about DC right now is that the director's car is really nice. I wish I had one of those."

"You got driven around in the director's car?!" Lois obviously didn't miss a beat.

"Not really. She just sent her driver to pick me up and then…"

"Her 'driver'?!!" Lois sounded completely floored.

"Lois!! Would you stop! It was a one time thing! It's not like he's going to be showing up at my door every day to give me a lift to work! God! I think she knew what a day I was in for and wanted to throw in something nice for me. Believe me, I really needed it."

"So, do you have to go in today?" Lois had obviously gotten the hint.

"No." Chloe sighed. "They told me it'll be at least a day before I get assigned. They need time to record all my results and issue my ID."

"Ah-hah. A day all to yourself, then. Going to check out the scene? Scope out the new city?"

"Yeah. I think I'll do that. Abby gave me a lot of tips on some really interesting places. And Ducky was a real treasure when it came to things like a good dry cleaners and some nice restaurants."

"Abby? Who's Abby? And for that matter, who names their kid 'Ducky'?" Chloe couldn't help but giggle at her cousin's confusion.

"Ducky's the nickname for the NCIS M.E. His real name is Donald."

"Ah! Donald Duck. Clever." Lois sounded like she was grinning. "And this Abby person?"

"The NCIS Forensics expert. She's a goth." Chloe could literally hear Lois' brain screech to a halt.

"She's a what?"

"A goth, Lois."

"Oh… You mean one of those people who wear lots of leather and spikes, paint their face all white and use shoeshine as makeup?"

"She's not all that far out, but yeah. Lots of dark colors, rock & roll meets punk, all that stuff. Yeah, she wears dark makeup, but no white face, though."

"And… she's the forensics expert…?" The dubious tone in Lois' voice made Chloe frown.

"Hey, I'm sure she's really good at her job. She's a great person. Gave me a hug and everything. She's really nice."

"You're not thinking of following her example or anything, are you? Cause, I've got to tell you, I don't think the whole goth thing will suit you." Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes at her cousin's words. "Scoff all you want, sunshine. I've seen it happen. Nice country girl heads off to the big city to make it big… comes back a few years later with piercings up the ying-yang… numerous tattoos in various very inappropriate places, and a kid or two to her name."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Chloe drawled sarcastically. "As a matter of fact, I have an appointment at the tattoo parlor this afternoon."

"Seriously?" It actually sounded like Lois believed her.

"No!!" Chloe laughed. "Come on, Lois. Can you imagine me with a tattoo somewhere 'inappropriate'? Certain people would go postal if I showed up in Smallville with a tattoo on my butt."

"Yeah, well, unless you intend to drop your pants in front of Clark and moon him, I don't see how he'd find out about it." Chloe rolled her eyes at that one.

"Goodbye Lois." She chuckled. "I'm going to go check out this place in daylight. I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Alright, go forth Agent Sullivan. Discover the new country. Just don't do anything too crazy on your first day. Can't have you showing up on your first TV spot with a ring in your nose or something." The teasing tone in Lois' voice made Chloe chuckle again. "Oh, and the Kent farm says hi. Those three are just dying to hear from you. And uh… I think poor Kara's still a little shook up from the impromptu lap dance she got at your farewell party. She jumps every time Jimmy touches her and she's not prepared for it. I think it's starting to annoy him a little."

Chloe remembered that part of her party. The male strippers had been doing their thing, and Clark and Jimmy had been trying very hard to find somewhere else to be during their little number. Then one of the strippers had made an unexpected detour, heading right for Kara's seat. The girl's eyes had gone impossibly wide, and the closer the guy got, the farther back Kara had tried to scurry. She was a teenage girl, and a smoking hot one at that. She was used to guys coming on to her… just not 'that' directly! When the guy had finally turned away from her to seek other prey, Kara had been an inch away from falling off the back of her plush armchair. In fact, she 'had' fallen backwards over the back of her armchair, and her startled squeak that had accompanied that little tumble had had everyone roaring with laughter. When the girl had finally dared resurface again, she'd been blushing so hard. To be honest, Chloe had no idea Kara's cheeks could turn 'that' bright a shade of red.

After saying their goodbyes, Chloe hung up and stumbled out of bed. She groaned as she looked at her own appearance. She couldn't believe she'd slept in her clothes! Oh well. Sighing, she stumbled out of her bedroom, scratching the back of her head. In the daylight, her new apartment was bright… very bright! Her living room windows were large and she had a pretty good view over her street. She took a while to gaze out the window, taking in the scene. This looked like a pretty nice neighborhood, even for an in-city address. It looked pretty quiet too. She turned around and took a long look over her apartment. 'Her' apartment! In a new city. And not just any new city; this was Washington DC! The boiling pot! And she was here; starting a new career, in a federal agency that she didn't even know existed a few weeks ago. Life sure had a way of surprising you when you least expected it. She smiled to herself, rolling Lois' words over in her head… Go forth Agent Sullivan. Discover the new country. She was about to do just that. Moving over to her suitcases, she dug through one of them and fished out her toiletries along with shampoo, soap, makeup kit, and a pair of towels. Then she headed for the bathroom. Time to freshen up before hitting the streets of this vast new city. There were things to see and places to check out. The city wasn't going to check itself out, now was it?


	5. Chapter 5

She'd been in Washington DC all of three whole days, including the day she'd spent going through her examinations, and during that time, Chloe had tried to take in as much of the city as she could

She'd been in Washington DC all of three whole days, including the day she'd spent going through her examinations, and during that time, Chloe had tried to take in as much of the city as she could. She'd driven her Yaris all over town and had found every place Abby and Ducky had recommended to her; from grocery stores to pubs to restaurants to dry cleaners. She'd tried to find the most efficient way to get to the naval yard, taking into account the shortest time vs. the shortest distance, and she thought she had it down pretty well. And now she was again sitting in director Shepard's office… sitting in the same chair she had sat in three days ago when the director had put her through the test of honesty.

She lowered the pen, placing it carefully on the desk. She had just signed her name on a number of official documents. Among them was a contract of employment, an insurance form… well, actually, there were quite a few of those… a release form for a sidearm, and a confidentiality agreement, stating that she was obligated not to disclose any facts about any of the cases she worked on without receiving authorization to do so by either her immediate superior or the director herself. She'd read every word of every document before she'd signed them, taking her time to do so and going through them in detail. It was something she automatically did to any document placed before her for signing these days. If dealing with the Luthor's had taught her anything, it was never to sign anything unless you knew exactly what it was you were signing. Director Shepard gathered the papers up and signed them as well. After that, it was Cynthia's turn to sign as a witness. The instant Cynthia had finished signing the final document, she gathered them all up.

"I'll rush copies of these through the channels right away, director." Cynthia said as she started for the door.

"Thank you Cynthia." The director replied. The door closed behind the African American woman, leaving Chloe alone with the director. The director opened up a drawer in her desk and extracted a leather wallet and what looked to be a sidearm in a sleek black leather holster. "These arrived late last night." The director said, sliding the holstered weapon across the desk toward Chloe, and Chloe reached out to take it. Good god, her hands were shaking! Chloe took a moment to take in the holstered weapon. It was sleek and pitch black, gleaming in the light of the room. She could smell the gun oil. This weapon had most likely never been fired outside the testing range.

"It uh…" Chloe's voice wavered a little. "It's heavy." She remarked, still watching the weapon. To be honest, it kind of freaked her out to be holding an instrument of death that she knew she'd be carrying around every day while at work.

"That's because it's fully loaded." The director commented calmly. Chloe glanced up at the woman, seeing her sitting before her, watching her with a studying gaze and slowly turning the leather wallet over in her hands. "Does it bother you? The sidearm?" Chloe took a moment to consider her feelings regarding the instrument in her hands. Her green eyes traced the rectangular shape carefully.

"To be honest… it does. A little." She finally confessed.

"It's understandable." The director replied. "It's not like you've grown up around many of these things. I figure the only guns you've come in any real contact with are the shotguns and rifles the farmers use to scare off foxes and weasels from their chicken coops."

"I uh… I have fired a handgun before… you know, before coming here… Damn nearly killed one of the Daily Planet's intern photographers one of those times." She saw the director grin at that, and she couldn't help the nervous little laugh that escaped her. "It happened during Black Thursday… I was a little on edge due to the riots. Missed him by a mile and a half, thank god. He kept calling me gunslinger after that one." The director chuckled at this, and then her face became business like again.

"The sidearm; it's part of the package; comes with the position. Will you be alright with that?" She asked, studying Chloe for her reaction. Chloe turned the holstered gun over in her hands, thinking about her answer.

"I will be." She finally replied. "I'll most likely live at the firing range for a while to practice but…" She nodded, her eyes on the weapon. "Practice makes perfect, right?" She smiled and looked at the woman.

"You'll do fine." The director said with a soft smile. Chloe returned the smile, nodding. Yeah. She'd be fine. After about 800 lessons or so… sure; she'd be fine.

"Now, Ms. Sullivan," the director said as she rose from her seat. Chloe got up as well, her newly assigned weapon in her hands, facing the statuesque red haired woman. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your new position." She held out the leather wallet to Chloe, who accepted it with a little trepidation. Flipping it open, Chloe was met with a sight that she never would have imagined she'd ever see. It was her ID! Her federal ID! There it was; laminated in plastic. The picture that had been taken of her that first day… her name and rank… oh my god! She had a rank! How weird was that?! There was a stiff leather flip in the middle of the wallet, and when she flipped it over, so that it covered the laminated part, a gleaming silver shield appeared, bearing the inscription 'Civilian Agent'. Chloe had to remind herself to breathe! Her fingertips traced over the gleaming shield with a feather light touch. It was real! This was really happening! She was a federal agent! A civilian one, but still! She looked up at the smiling director before her and saw her hold out her hand to her. "Welcome to NCIS; Agent Sullivan." Chloe smiled back at the woman and shook her hand.

"Thank you, director Shepard. I look forward to facing whatever challenge this post throws my way." The director's smile turned a little knowing.

"Funny you should put it that way." The woman smirked. Chloe wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that. "A challenge is exactly what you're about to face."

"I… don't understand." Chloe said in nervous laughter.

"You're about to meet your team leader, Ms. Sullivan. Your new boss." Somehow, the smirk on the director's face did not inspire much confidence in Chloe in regards to her future. "Please." She indicated a seat at the conference table at the other end of the room. "Have a seat. I think you two should meet as soon as possible." Chloe made to move over to the seat the director had indicated, but hesitated and looked down at what she was carrying. Her ID… and a very lethal handgun. She had no idea where to put them. There was no way the gun was going into her purse! It would take her forever to find it if she needed it. "I'd suggest the inner pocket of your jacket for your ID…" Director Shepard had obviously noticed her dilemma. "And as for the sidearm, I'd use the clip at the back of the holster and attach it to your belt, just beyond your side. That way it won't stick into your back all the time, and still won't bother you when you're sitting down." Chloe did as the director instructed, the ID going in her jacket pocket, but the sidearm… just wouldn't cooperate! The clip was really stiff. "Here… let me help." The director moved around her desk and took the holstered gun from Chloe's hands. She moved Chloe's jacket out of the way and with a practiced ease, slid the clip of the holster into Chloe's belt. It felt strange feeling it there. Like a weight of doom around her waist. "How's that?" The director asked. "Comfortable?"

"It feels weird." Chloe replied honestly, flexing her back a little and wincing. "I'm not used to having anything back there."

"You've worn a wire before. This is very similar." It was a statement that startled Chloe, and she stared at the woman in shock. How did she know about that? The US Marshals had assured her that no one would know she'd worn a wire to bring down Lionel Luthor all those years ago. Director Shepard smiled enigmatically. "Don't ask. I just know. Let's leave it at that."

"You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"It's my job to know as much as I can about the people working for me." The director replied, adjusting the holster on Chloe's belt. "How's this? Better?" Chloe flexed her back again, and had to admit, it felt a lot more comfortable now.

"Yeah. Much better. Thank you."

"Can you reach it alright? It won't do you much good if you can't get to it quickly." Chloe swung her arm back to move her jacket out of the way and reached for the sidearm with her other hand. "Nononono." The director stopped her with a hand on her arm. "You've got to do it one handed."

"One handed?" Chloe echoed. "I've got to move my jacket out of the way, 'and' pull the gun out in one movement?"

"It takes practice, but yes. That's what you have to do." Chloe looked very dubious. "Try it." The director instructed. "No pressure. I'm not expecting you to master the move on your first try. Like I said, it takes practice." Chloe did as instructed. She swung her arm back, her jacket moving with her body, and reached for the sidearm. It was stuck! She tugged at the gun but it wouldn't budge.

"There's a little leather latch over the hammer to secure the weapon in place." The director, obviously trying to smother a laugh, stopped her from tugging again and indicated the mentioned latch on the holster. "That way it won't pop out of its holster when you're running or sitting in your car. It's easy to flip on and off with your thumb in order to secure and free the weapon." Chloe flexed her thumb and flipped the leather latch off the hammer. And lo and behold, the gun slipped free of the holster.

"Huh." Chloe mused as she examined the gun in her hand… 'her' gun! "Three steps. Not two. Move jacket, flip the latch, remove gun. Got to remember that." The director smirked at that.

"You'll get the hang of it." She moved back around her desk and picked up the phone. She dialed an extension and Chloe put her sidearm back in its holster, careful to flip the latch back in place. She didn't want the firearm slipping free and clattering to the floor when she met her team leader, now did she? That would be embarrassing on a whole new level. The director was speaking into the phone, asking the person on the other end if they could ask 'him' to come see her for a moment, seeing as his line was busy. Okay… 'him'… that had to be the team leader. Hanging up the phone, the director indicated the seat again. "Please. Take a seat. He'll be right here." Fixing her jacket back in place, Chloe took the seat the director had indicated. The woman sat down behind her desk, put her glasses back on and started going through some papers.

No more than a minute or two had passed when Chloe heard the echo of Cynthia's voice from the other side of the door to the director's office. She sounded annoyed, if anything. A second later, the door was opened rather aggressively and a tall man marched into the room, stopping about three quarters of the way between the door and the director's desk, his back mostly turned toward Chloe. He obviously hadn't noticed she was there.

"You wanted to see me, director." The man's voice was a little gruff, sounding almost annoyed. Like the director had just interrupted him in the middle of something very important. The director gave him a little smile, and Chloe couldn't help but notice the tiny flicker of wicked amusement in the woman's eyes. The guy had to be in his 50's, with short, almost military style, salt and pepper graying hair… well, more salt than pepper, to be honest… His shoulders were broad and his stance just screamed 'soldier'.

"Sorry, director." Cynthia stood in the doorway, looking annoyed herself. "He just barged right past me."

"It's alright, Cynthia. I've gotten used to his rather abrupt entrances." Cynthia left, closing the door, and the director turned her gaze back on the man. "She's out there for a reason, you know." She indicated the door with a tiny nod of her head.

"To control traffic, I know." The man replied in that same tone of voice. "The light was green and no one else was around. I could have held up potential traffic if I'd waited, and that would have made her job a lot harder." The director chuckled as she removed her glasses and got up from her seat.

"Still, why don't we allow her to do her job in the future."

"Is there a reason for me being here, director?" The guy sounded anything but amused as he got right back on track. The director's eyes narrowed for a second as she stared at the man in silence. Chloe watched the exchange with intrigue. This guy apparently got under the director's skin. It seemed that he managed to make her feel… almost uncomfortable in a way. Interesting.

"I wanted to inform you that your new team member has just been cleared for duty." The woman finally replied in that calm controlled tone of hers.

"My new team member?" The guy sounded a cross between confused and annoyed. "You mean the 'snoop' you're sticking me with?" Chloe gaped in shock at the nickname. Snoop?! Okay, that was rude! 'Snoop' was a common slang in the journalism world for paparazzi photographers! Granted, she may not be the oldest and most experienced in the field of journalism, but she was a far cry from hiding out in bushes, with a camera and a lens big enough to catch the acne on every teenage alien on Alfa Centauri, to try and catch a shot of Tom Cruise screwing his brainwashed wife in every position known to man! If there was one name that any self respecting journalist hated being called, a 'snoop' would be it! The director had undoubtedly noticed her reaction because her smirk widened.

"I don't think she appreciates being called by that name. Do you, Agent Sullivan?" Her gaze flicked over to Chloe as the question left her lips. Chloe set her jaw and got up from her seat, just as the man turned to face her. Their gazes met, clashing so hard that Chloe was surprised sparks hadn't started flying. Like when two swords clash in the battle field. The man's eyes were hard as steel and sharp as a pair of daggers. Chloe had seen eyes like his before… two pairs of them, actually… belonging to Lex and Lionel Luthor! She'd stared both of the Luther's down in her day; she would not give this man the pleasure of making her flinch! "Civilian Agent Chloe Sullivan is the new field media attaché that'll be attached to your team." The director spoke up again, obviously directing her words to the man glaring at Chloe. "Agent Sullivan?" the director glanced at Chloe as she addressed her, "Meet your new boss; Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs."


	6. Chapter 6

Before we get going with this chapter, I'd like to thank you all for all the amazing reviews. I really appreciate it.

It really gives me a thrill to see that you're enjoying the little construct of my warped little mind.

Thank you so much.

And now… On with the story!

--

"I'm not laughing, director." Special Agent Gibbs said as he glared at Chloe. The blond blinked a few times, not really getting where he was going with this. He'd been glaring at her for a few moments in complete silence… ever since Director Shepard introduced them… and 'this' was the first thing he said?!

"Excuse me?" the director replied, obviously as baffled as Chloe was.

"If this is your idea of a joke," Gibbs turned to face the director, "I'm not laughing." Chloe could not believe she'd just heard that!

"I assure you, Special Agent Gibbs," The red haired woman bristled, seeming to grow an extra inch or two, "that this is no joke! Agent Sullivan is your new Field Media Attaché, and that is final!"

"I can't use her." The man's voice was none caring and low. "She'd be a hindrance to my team." Okay... What?! This guy just met her! How could he make that call in 17 seconds?!

"Would she, now?!" the director countered, her eyes flashing, "care to clarify that statement?!"

"She's a kid, Jen!" The man raised his voice this time, and Chloe had had enough!

"Excuse me!" She shot in annoyance. The guy turned to glare at her again and Chloe gave him a saccharine sweet smile that did not reach her eyes, yet dripped with snark. "Hi! I'm Chloe Sullivan; the topic of your oh so riveting conversation!" She gave a little wave of her hand; almost like a greeting. "I'm actually still in the room, so If you're going to tear me down, Special Agent Gibbs, before you even know a thing about me, the least you could do is show me the common courteousy of doing it to my face!" Special Agent Gibbs glared at her for a moment and then turned back to face the director.

"Like I said; I can't use her. Try the daycare center on the ground floor. They might have a place for her in one of their groups." Chloe guffawed in outrage at that.

"No wonder the reporter doctored her own soundbite to get a buzz for her story!" She sneered. That got a reaction from the man; big time!

"Excuse me?!" He was facing her again with a look of outraged fury.

"With a winning bone dry personality like yours to interview? Hell, even 'I' would have doctored that soundbite myself!" Special Agent Gibbs seemed to swell in indignation.

"Enough!!" The barked order from the director stalled Special Agent Gibbs' retort, though he looked about ready to defy that order at any second. "Both of you will take a step back and breathe! Is that understood?!" Special Agent Gibbs glared at Chloe and Chloe glared right back. She definitely did not like this guy! "Do we have a problem?!" the director asked the pair of them. Neither one answered. "I know for a fact that your hearing is perfect, Agent Sullivan! Dr. Mallard confirmed it! So I'm going to assume you did not understand the question, rather than assume you simply chose to ignore it!"

No, ma'am." Chloe replied shortly, her glare not wavering in the least. "No problem at all."

"Special Agent Gibbs?!"

"Not that I'm aware of, director." The man's voice was back to that low intense tone.

"Good! Then I expect a very fruitful working relationship will come from Agent Sullivan joining your team!"

"Has she been assigned a weapon?" The man had tilted his head a bit as if he was speaking over her shoulder. Again with the talking about her as if she weren't there!!

"Yes she has!" Chloe replied before the director had a chance to. The man moved closer to her and Chloe felt herself stiffen a little.

"Hand it over." The man's voice, as he spoke to her, was low, but it left no mistake that this was a direct order rather than a request.

"According to the massive amount of paperwork I just signed, I'm not at liberty to relinquish my weapon." It was as close to a direct quote from the license and registration for said sidearm that she'd just signed as she could get. From her peripheral vision, Chloe saw the director behind Gibbs' back smothering a smirk.

"To anyone except your direct superior or the director herself." The man finished for her. Chloe had to admit, he was right. "As your superior, I'm telling you to hand over your weapon."

"Thought you didn't want me on your team, Special Agent Gibbs." Chloe said coldly. "Thought you couldn't use me because I'm a kid." The man's eyes narrowed as he glared at her. It didn't faze Chloe in the least.

"Agent Sullivan." The director said from behind the man. Again, Chloe caught a glimpse of the director… only this time, she was grinning like a cat that had just eaten the juiciest canary in the cage. "Please relinquish your weapon to Special Agent Gibbs." Without a word, Chloe moved her jacket out of the way and reached for her sidearm. She remembered to flick back the latch on the holster, and then drew her gun. The teachings of the weapons master from the firing range leaped into her head, about how she should always secure her weapon before handing it over to a superior, and she instantly went into the ritual of securing the weapon. A flick of a latch near the handle, and the clip slipped out from within the handle into her hand. A pull back on the slide locked it in place. The weapon was now as harmless as a caveman's club. She turned the weapon over in her hands, holding it by the muzzle as she held it, and the clip, out to Special Agent Gibbs, handle first. He took the items from her hands without a word and then started looking the gun over.

"And your backup." He instructed, still examining Chloe's gun.

"Backup?" Chloe frowned in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? The man looked at her in a mix of anger and surprise.

"You don't have a backup?!"

"She hasn't been assigned one, no." came the director's voice. Gibbs turned to look at her with a look of incredulous disbelief. "Don't give me that look, Jethro. She just got here, for crying out loud. Her ID and main sidearm just arrived last night." The guy remained silent and turned toward the door

"Get a backup." He told Chloe as he headed for the exit. Chloe frowned in confusion and shot the director a glance. The director smirked and jerked her head in Gibbs' direction. Chloe took the hint and quickly followed the man.

"Uh, I'm going to need that back, Special Agent Gibbs." Chloe indicated her gun, which was still in Gibbs' hand. "I signed a bunch of documents to get it and the director says it's my responsibility."

"And you'll get it back." Gibbs replied, not slowing his stride in the least. "Just as soon as you earn it."

"Earn it…?" Chloe echoed in shock. "But…"

"Signing off on a sidearm and actually being worthy of carrying one are two different things." He pressed the button to call the elevator.

"Okay, so... following this very zen like teaching… how do I go about earning it?" The elevator arrived and the doors slid open.

"After you." Gibbs indicated the open door to the elevator with a swish of his arm. Chloe watched the guy for a moment in exasperation, before stepping into the elevator. This guy was a real trip! Gibbs followed her inside and pressed a button for what Chloe could swear was the next floor down. She frowned at this bizarre action and was about to say something when the doors closed and the elevator started moving. Just then, Gibbs reached out and flicked the emergency stop switch on the elevator, making it stop dead and the making the lights die down to a bare minimum.

"I want you to listen, Agent Sullivan, and listen well." Gibbs turned to face her, and she had to admit that he looked a lot more intimidating in this enclosed semi-darkened space than he had in the director's office. "You are a member of my team. And as your direct superior I'm not only responsible for your wellbeing but I'm also accountable for your screw ups. If you panic in a dark alley and accidentally gun down a 12 year old kid because you didn't know your sidearm better than you know your boyfriend's body, I'm the one who will ultimately be responsible for it; mainly due to the fact that I allowed an inexperienced agent out into the field with a loaded firearm." Chloe swallowed hard as the image of that scenario ran through her head. If that happened to her, she'd be devastated! "First rule to remember, Agent Sullivan, I say jump…"

"I ask how high. Got it." Chloe nodded.

"No. You don't ask." Gibbs glared at her. "You jump. No questions, no ands, no buts, no ifs. You simply jump."

"How do I know if it's high enough?"

"You'll know, because I won't smack you upside the head when you land." Chloe blinked at that. Was he for real?! Gibbs turned back toward the controls.

"Thought you didn't want me on your team." Chloe ventured.

"Don't tempt me, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs turned back to glare at her. "As far as I'm concerned, you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Nice." Chloe drawled sarcastically. "I've been a kid in need of daycare, an irresponsible trigger happy rookie that scares easily, and now I'm more trouble than I'm worth. Wow. And this is only my first day. I wonder how Friday's going to turn out for me." Gibbs's glare picked up in intensity, and Chloe set her jaw. If he thought he could push her around, he had another thing coming! She stepped up closer to him, and glared into his eyes. "And you can drop the evil eye routine, Special Agent Gibbs!" She all but hissed at him. "I've stared down bigger bullies than you!" She knew she was out of line. No, make that WAY out of line! But she'd had just about enough of this guy and his scare tactics!

"Name one!" Gibbs growled. Ooooh! A challenge!

"Lex Luthor!" Chloe hissed.

"He's an amateur! A punk kid with too much time on his hands and too much money to relieve his boredom! Try again!"

"Lionel Luthor!!" Chloe shot back immediately, raising her voice a notch to match her rising annoyance. That reply actually made Gibbs' left eye twitch. He remained quiet, glaring at her… almost like he was studying her eyes for any sign of either a lie or a weakness. Chloe held her own, glaring right back at the guy. She'd done what she said she'd done. She 'had' started both Luthor's down in her day, and she was damn proud of it too! No way was this guy going to take that away from her!

"You've got guts. I'll give you that." Gibbs said quietly, nodding his head slowly as a ghost of a smirk appeared on his lips. Chloe blinked, getting caught a little off guard. She had not expected that reaction. Gibbs turned back to the controls and flicked the emergency stop switch. The elevator's main lights came back on and it started descending again. Chloe really didn't know what to think. She was more confused than ever at this point. A second later Gibbs flicked the emergency switch again, plunging the elevator into emergency lighting again as it stopped dead.

"I'm a bully?" He turned to face her, looking incredulous.

"You called me a snoop." Chloe defended herself. The guy stared at her for a moment as he seemed to be considering that one. He blinked and hesitantly turned back to the controls.

"Fair enough." He mumbled and started the elevator up again. Chloe smirked in triumph. Oh yeah! She'd won that round. The smirk disappeared instantly as she felt a light smack on the back of her head. She stared at him in an open mouthed shock of outrage. He had not just smacked her upside the head!! "No gloating. I'm still your boss." Gibbs said simply, just before the elevator doors opened. He stalked out into the hall, leaving Chloe to scramble after him.

"And I don't have a boyfriend!" Chloe grumbled as she caught up with him, rubbing the back of her head. She had to admit, though, if she did have one, she'd most definitely pay more attention to said boyfriend's body than her sidearm!

"Give it time. You will." Gibbs said matter-of-factly. Chloe really didn't know how to take that.

They arrived at the same large open area that Chloe had passed that first day, when Cynthia had escorted her to her very first meeting with the director. Of the four desks lined up in a rectangular pattern, only two were occupied; the one with the Middle-Eastern looking woman sitting behind it, and the one right across from hers, the one with the suave looking young guy seated behind it.

"Listen up!" Gibbs called out as he marched right in. Chloe, however, stopped just short of actually going in there. The pair stopped whatever they were doing; the suave guy actually scrambling to put something away that he obviously didn't want Gibbs to see. Chloe just barely caught sight of the cover of a men's magazine before it vanished into a drawer in the guy's desk. "We've got some new blood." Gibbs said as he moved behind the desk that had the most number of computer monitors on it; the one that had been unoccupied during Chloe's last visit. He opened up a drawer in his desk and put Chloe's sidearm and the clip in it before closing it up and actually locking it. "Say hello to our new Field Media Attaché." He said as he straightened up and put his keys away while staring at one of the monitors. The couple just stared at him, looking a little confused. Gibbs looked up and his gaze flicked between their faces. "She's over there." He pointed at Chloe, as if giving directions to a pair of tourists who didn't speak the language. Both faces turned toward her at once.

"Hi." Chloe said, raising her hand in greeting. The Middle-Eastern woman's eyes narrowed a little as she took Chloe in, pursing her lips just the tiniest bit. The suave guy, however, smiled at her.

"Well, hello there." He almost purred as he moved closer to her. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He held out his hand to her.

"I'm Chloe. Chloe Sullivan." Chloe introduced herself and took the proffered hand.

"'Civilian Agent' Chloe Sullivan." Gibbs corrected her without looking up from the monitor. Oh great! Now he was correcting her on her name too!

"Au-chanté, mademoiselle." Tony said and gave a little bow to her, his eyes twinkling with wickedness. Chloe grinned in amusement. A charmer, huh? And obviously someone who thought he could make her swoon. The Middle-Eastern woman rolled her eyes at DiNozzo's antics.

"Please forgive Tony." She said as she approached. "He likes to think of himself as somewhat of a…" she seemed to be searching for the right word, "…chanter. Yes?" Chloe arched an amused eyebrow at the woman's choice of words. Tony, however, tried to… and failed to… contain a wince.

"The word is 'charmer'… Officer David." He said pointedly. Chloe noticed he put the emphasis on the V in the woman's name. And he'd called her 'Officer'… not 'Special Agent'. Furthermore, she'd noticed the woman spoke with an accent. Interesting. The woman waved off Tony's words, her entire focus on Chloe.

"Ziva David." The woman said shortly and stuck her hand out to Chloe, looking her dead in the eye.

"Nice to meet you." Chloe took the offered hand and shook it, getting a little worried when she felt the strength of the woman's grip. Her grip was just as powerful as her gaze was piercing. Chloe remembered this woman. She was the one she'd gotten the bad feeling about during her previous visit to the Naval Yard. The one Chloe thought looked like a pissed off assassin.

"Hey!" Came Gibbs' annoyed voice from behind the monitors. "Where's McGee?!"

"He ran down to Abby's, boss." Tony replied, leaning back a bit speaking half over his shoulder. "She called, saying she needed his nerd herder brain for something. Said she may have found something on that motherboard we pulled out of Private Nichols' laptop."

"And you didn't think to call me because…?" Gibbs glared at Tony, who seemed to falter.

"Uh, well… because you were upstairs with the chief…?" Tony winced. "Boss…?" Gibbs got up and started off toward the elevator.

"That's your desk, Agent Sullivan." He said as he indicated a cubicle he was passing, across the partition from the desk across from his. "I suggest you get acquainted with it."

"Thank you, sir." Chloe called after him, thinking she'd better start showing the guy a little respect. He was her boss, after all. Tony and Ziva both stared at her like she'd just grown an extra head and Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks. Uh-oh! She'd said something wrong! Gibbs turned back and walked right up to her, Tony and Ziva quickly backing away to make room.

"Don't call me sir." Gibbs said in that intense low tone of his.

"Right… uh, okay…" Chloe replied, feeling a little intimidated and a little lost for words. Then she remembered how Tony had addressed Gibbs. "Boss…?" She ventured carefully. Gibbs glared at her for a moment longer before starting off toward the elevator again. Chloe gave a little sigh of relief. "Is it just me, or is he a little tough to please?" She mused, mostly to herself.

"Who, Gibbs? Nah. He's a pussycat." Tony beamed at her, while Ziva snickered. "So… You're the new field media attaché." He looked Chloe over, like he was sizing her up and… no, wait… he wasn't sizing her up… he was checking her out!!

"Was that your weapon he locked in his drawer?" Ziva's question interrupted Chloe's outburst before it had even been born.

"Yes, actually, it was." Chloe decided to ignore Tony's obvious attempt to check out her ass and focused on Ziva instead. Ziva made a little sound of intrigue in reply and turned back to her desk. "What?" Chloe asked, curious about the woman's reaction.

"Just… good to know I'm not the only one he's done that to."

"He took your gun away?" Chloe asked incredulously. Somehow she could not imagine anyone being dumb enough to try to take anything from this woman.

"Both of them. And my knife."

"Your knife?" Chloe blinked in shock."You carry a knife?" This woman carried a knife on her person? What other type of weaponry did she carry on a day to day basis? A bazooka in her purse? A rocket launcher in her car? A machine gun in her garter belt?

"Yes. I do. It's about…" the woman held out her index fingers and considered the distance between them. "…this long."

"That's 8 inches." Chloe deadpanned, still reeling from the shock. "What could you possibly need an 8 inch blade for, in this line of work?"

"In Mossad, we're trained to be prepared for anything." The woman shrugged. "Gibbs did let me keep the knife eventually. He just wanted me to know that he knew I had one."

"Okay… I'm confused. Mossad?" Chloe felt like her head was spinning from too much info.

"Ah-hah. Stumbled on to something out of the ordinary." Tony grinned. "See, Ziva here is a member of the Israeli Intelligence Agency.

"Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations." Ziva corrected him in a flat tone.

"In short…" Tony trudged on without breaking stride. "…Mossad is the Israeli equivalent of the CIA and the FBI rolled into one." Ziva grumbled something under her breath in a language that Chloe assumed had to be Hebrew. And from the sound of her tone, it didn't sound like it was anything very flattering.

"Wait… the Israeli Intelligence Agency?" Chloe echoed.

"Institute for Intelligence and…" Ziva started again, sounding annoyed.

"I think she got it the first time around, Ziva." Tony stopped her.

"Okay… this is going to sound like a really dumb question, but…" Chloe gave a nervous laugh as she spoke.

"What's a Mossad Officer doing working with NCIS?" Ziva asked the question for her. Chloe gave a little wince, feeling terribly ignorant. Ziva just smirked. "I'm on loan from Mossad. This team has encountered some terrorist related incidences in the past, so I'm here to offer my expertise."

"Terrorist related…" Chloe spluttered, looking between Tony and Ziva in wide eyed shock. "You mean like… blowing up buildings, bombing gas stations, flying airplanes full of passengers into skyscrapers, terrorists?! I- I thought you guys examined crime scenes and… and gathered evidence and questioned witnesses and… and stuff like that… No one said a word to me about terrorist stuff!" Okay, Sullivan. Calm down, girl. You're starting to panic. Not a good first impression to make.

"We do." Tony replied. "We examine crime scenes and conduct investigations relating to the naval and marine branch of the armed forces."

"That's what I thought." Chloe sighed in relief.

"Which sometimes involve matters of national security, breaking up a weapon smuggling ring, sniffing out assassins or potential suicide bombers, setting up sting operations to hunt down terrorists, or even taking them down ourselves." Chloe felt like her head was spinning incredibly fast. The more Tony talked, the less she heard. This was too much! "Are you okay? You look kind of pale." Tony actually looked concerned as he watched her.

"No no, I'm… I'm fine, I just…" Chloe tried to find words but all her head could do was tell her she'd just bitten off WAY more than she could chew.

"You need to sit down or something?" Tony asked in concern, moving around his desk and brought out his desk chair.

"No, I'm… fine." Chloe tried to smile, but felt like she was about to throw up.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as it sounds." Tony said reassuringly. "Most of the time we don't show up till after the fact. We rarely see any major life threatening action."

"Unless you count being locked in a shipping container full of money and being shot at by a bunch of terrorist funding maniacs with machineguns." Ziva's tone was so blasé that she might as well have been talking about the weather. Chloe felt her entire world just lurch to the side. Was she serious?! "Don't know what was more of a danger; the bullets ricocheting off the metal walls as the guys tried to fill us full of lead, or the fire we set to try and let people know we were in there. Or the smoke from the fire, rather."

"Not helping, Officer David!" Tony hissed in quiet pointed tone.

"What?! I'm just telling her what really happened!" Ziva defended herself.

"Ix-nay on the ullets-bay!" Tony leveled a look on her that was a clear indication for Ziva to be quiet.

"See! There you go again with that weird language that sounds like English but doesn't make any sense!" Ziva raged. "What does that 'ix-nay' stuff mean, anyway?! You know what, nevermind! She asked, I answered! It's not my fault we almost got our heads blown off in that container!" Chloe felt her knees go weak as her face went to a shade of pale that was beyond white. Oh god! It was true! It… it really happened!

"I- I need to sit down." Chloe mumbled and plopped down into Tony's chair, which he'd just brought out, just before her knees gave out. What the hell had she gotten herself into?!


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everybody. =)

Sorry about the long wait for this update. Things have been crazy in the real world, leaving me with very little time to do any form of writing.

I'd like to thank everyone for reading my story and for all the reviews you've sent me. I really appreciate them. Thank you so much. =)

So now, I give you the long awaited Chapter 7 of my story 'Agent Sullivan'. Enjoy. =)

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Sitting at her newly assigned desk, Chloe got acquainted with her new work station. Granted, it was roomier than her desk at the Daly Planet, and offered up more privacy, but it was a cubicle, just like any other. However, with the right adjustments, she could make it more homey. She adjusted her digital frame in the corner of her desk and set it on a 24 hour rotation. Every morning she could come to work and be greeted by a new picture in the frame. A small smile graced her lips as the frame came to life, showing a digital image of the whole gang, smiling back at her. Jimmy and Kara, cheek to cheek with her, Lois next to Jimmy, Clark next to Kara, and Lana at the front of the group, crouching down in front of Chloe… The whole Smallville gang… all of them, beaming at the camera. It was a photo that had been taken on Chloe's digital camera at her farewell party. The memory card in the digital frame was filled to the brim with pictures like this; memories from home.

"That's a nice model." The male voice from behind her made Chloe swivel around in her chair. Standing next to the partition separating her cubicle from the large open space with the four desks, was the nice guy that had smiled back at her on her way up the stairs during her first visit.

"What?" She replied in confusion at the guy's statement.

"The digi-frame." The guy clarified with a smile and an indication toward said object, "that's a nice model. Zx1250, right?"

"1210, but you get an A for effort." Chloe smiled at the guy.

"The memory card only model." The guy nodded. Oooooh! This guy knew his hardware. Very interesting.

"Yeah. Although the idea of a 12 gig in internal storage capacity is really tantalizing, the 1250's still a little too rich for my blood."

"Yeah, they do jack up those prices the second the internal storage hits the dozen gig barrier." He chuckled. "Aside from that, the 1210 and 1250 are basically the same frame. Same resolution, same screen, same features… It's a good model, the 1210…" He trailed off, smiling at her. "Oh. Sorry." He moved toward her, extending his hand. "Hi. I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee." Chloe got up from her chair.

"Chloe Sullivan." She introduced herself, shaking his hand and smiling at him. "Uh, Civilian… Agent… Chloe Sullivan." She amended in a bit of a stutter. "Guess I should get used to saying that."

"Takes a bit of getting used to, I know." He chuckled. "It took me a year to really feel comfortable saying my full title. It always sounded a little pretentious when I said it."

"I know what you mean." Chloe chuckled.

"So. You're the new field media attaché."

"Yup. That's me."

"I take it you've already met the boss?" There was a little grin on his lips that Chloe found amusing.

"You mean Special Agent Gibbs?" She grinned. "Oh yeah. We got on like a house on fire. We're real palls."

"Knocked you down the moment he set eyes on you, didn't he?" McGee grinned.

"Maybe a little." Chloe replied in mock evasiveness. McGee chuckled at that.

"He does that to everybody. I think it's his way of establishing the chain of command."

"Is that so, McGee?!" Gibbs' voice came out of nowhere, making both Chloe and McGee jump. Half a second later, Gibbs marched past Chloe's cubicle, not even sparing them a second glance. Where the hell did he come from?! Christ, these people DID have a degree in sneaking up on people!

"Uh, sorry, boss, just uh… Just introducing myself, is all." McGee stammered, clearly unnerved at being caught.

"Agent Sullivan, do are you in any doubt as to who this man is?" Gibbs asked in that calm, yet serious tone of his as he sat down at his desk; again, without so much as a glance in their direction.

"Uh, no… He introduced himself just fine." Chloe really had no idea how to respond to that question. "His mother would be very proud." She winced, realizing just how stupid that had sounded.

"Good to know, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs deadpanned as he scrolled through something on his screen. "Special Agent McGee, now that you've made your mother proud by introducing yourself, have you established Agent Sullivan's access yet?"

"Not yet. I was just-" McGee's voice died in his throat as Gibbs looked up and fixed his gaze directly at him. "I- I'll get right on that, boss." McGee stammered. Turning to Chloe, he indicated her screen. "Uh, I'm going to need to uhm…" His words stalled, even though his mouth was working fine, and he kept indicating the terminal about 14 different ways. He looked kind of cute like that; all flustered and spluttering.

"Be my guest." Chloe quickly stepped out of the way and made a swaying gesture with her hands to indicate for him to make himself at home in her cubicle. McGee smiled and sat down in her chair, before starting to type furiously.

"I just need… to get you set up… on the server… and then… set up your access… to the databases…" He spoke in sections as he typed, fully concentrated on the task at hand. Chloe was amazed at his speed. She was a fast typer, sure, but this guy… Holy Hell! The more McGee typed, the closer he seemed to lean toward the screen. It was kind of funny, seeing him do that. Lois had told Chloe repeatedly that she did the exact same thing when she got on a roll.

"You should see yourself!" Chloe remembered Lois telling her in a snicker. "I swear, one of these days you're going to bump your forehead on the screen and jerk back wondering what just hit you!" Chloe smiled to herself at the memory.

"Aaannnddd... Voila!" McGee hit enter on the keyboard and leaned back in the chair, looking at Chloe with a winning smile. "Now all we need is Gibbs' confirmation code and you're all set." Without a word, Gibbs got up from his desk and made his way over to them. He leaned in and typed in a 12 digit access code, then hit enter. The computer chirped and it was as if the whole cyber world just opened up on the screen, accompanied by the words 'access established' flashing in green capitals.

"Voila?" Gibbs queried, looking at McGee, who seemed to shrink a bit in the chair. The phone on Gibbs' desk started ringing and he turned to head toward it. Chloe could have sworn she saw an amused grin on the man's lips as he passed her. McGee sighed and straightened up in the chair.

"A little intense, isn't he?" Chloe smirked.

"Just a bit." McGee mumbled and turned back to the monitor. "Now, let me show you around the mainframe." Chloe leaned over and looked over his shoulder, seeing the complex world of NCIS' mainframe opening up on her screen. "Now, here…" McGee clicked an icon, "you have access to all the service records and personnel files of all enlisted members within the Navy and the Marine core.

"Wow… That must be a huge database." Chloe mused.

"Try gargantuan." McGee grinned. "I wouldn't recommend trying to read through it all. Some of the entries are big enough to fill several boxes if you were to print them out. Might take you a while to read through."

"Right. Mental note, no taking home any light reading before bed from this sucker."

"No taking any light reading from this sucker, period." McGee corrected. "None of this stuff is to leave the building. It's classified 'Top Secret'." Chloe did a double take on that one.

"What?" She squeaked. She hadn't meant to, but the shock of what she'd just heard made her voice pitch out of her control.

"This stuff is top secret." McGee nodded toward the screen. "It doesn't leave the building unless approved by a team leader or the director herself."

"Are you telling me that I have access to top secret documents?" Chloe asked as a way of clarifying what she thought she'd heard. "Me? A civilian?"

"Well, 'some' top secret documents, pertaining to the Naval and Marine branches of the military, yeah." McGee chuckled. "You're a member of a federal investigative team that focuses on a certain section of the government. You're a fact finder. And this is one of the tools that help us do our job."

"So…" Chloe blinked a few times, trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she now had free access to documents that she would have sold her right arm to get a peek at as a teenager in the prime of her conspiracy theory days. "I could bring up the records of… anyone in the Navy? Or the Marines?" McGee nodded in response.

"Enlisted personnel, officers, even the service records of anyone who's retired from these two branches." Chloe blinked a few more times, trying to take that in. Whoa! That was a lot of sensitive info in there! "Now, over here…" McGee turned back to the screen and clicked another icon, "we have the forensics package. Any evidence that's collected goes directly to Abby down in the lab. Did you meet her?"

"Yeah, I met her when I had my physical." Chloe replied with a grin. "She's a riot."

"She is that alright." McGee grinned back. "So, evidence goes to Abby, who processes all of it and then records all the results, which we can access here." he jabbed his finger lightly at the screen. "Of course, we usually wind up going down to see her whenever she finds something; basically because she's so excited about her findings that she just has to share it with us right then and there, before the results even go into the archive."

"Yeah, I noticed she was a little hyper when I met her." Chloe chuckled, "like she'd just had 6 cups of coffee."

"This was in the morning, right?" McGee queried.

"Actually, it was in the afternoon." Chloe replied. "My physical was the last thing on the agenda that day."

"Ah. CaffPow." McGee nodded sagely. Chloe's eyebrows raised in curiosity. What was that word he just used?

"Gezunteit." Chloe joked as a way to counter what McGee had just said… whatever it was. McGee chuckled.

"CaffPow is a beverage that Abby likes, and can drink in vast…" he hesitated for a moment as if something completely incomprehensible had just crossed his mind, "and by that I do mean 'vast' quantities."

"What is it?"

"It's basically a pink concoction that consists almost entirely of caffeine and sugar. I highly doubt there's even any liquid matter, as we know it, mixed into the thing, and still, it's as runny as water or soda." He shook his head in bewilderment. "I have no clue why she likes it so much but, good god, does it ever make her hyper."

"I was the same way in high school." Chloe chuckled. "What with having to oversee an entire high school newspaper nearly on my own, write most all the stories, and put the layout to bed in the limited time I had between classes and after school… Yeah. Caffeine was my best friend back then." Chloe smiled at the memories, but shook them off pretty quickly, focusing back at the task at hand. "So, what else is there in the vast electronic vaults of NCIS?" McGee grinned in response to the question and clicked another icon.

"Something for you to read up on." A splash screen came up, indicating that they were entering the NCIS archives. "Old cases." McGee explained. "Solved ones, cold cases, ongoing long term investigations; the works." He brought up the index and started typing. "Just type in the case file number…" McGee spoke as he typed, "and… presto." He hit the enter key and instantly an entire case file opened up on her screen. Chloe's jaw nearly hit the floor. Photos, reports from on-scene agents, forensics results, fingerprints, autopsy reports, toxicology results, list of witnesses, list of suspects, evidence catalogue… anything she would ever need to know about the case was right there, at her fingertips!

"Cool!" Chloe breathed in awe as she watched the info come alive before her eyes.

"Very cool." McGee agreed, grinning at the screen. "Everything you need to read up on how we work is right here."

"Hey." Chloe tapped his shoulder and gave him the universal gesture of 'move over' without taking her gaze off the screen. "Let me try." McGee vacated the chair and Chloe slid into it in his place.

For the next few minutes, McGee showed her around the vast file vault that was the NCIS archives, taking her through a few of the cases the team had solved. Chloe felt like a kid in a candy store. This was amazing! The amount of work the team put into every case and the level of depth the investigations reached was mind boggling. Chloe was in heaven! Her green eyes scanned through the info on the screen, her lips stuck in a perpetual grin of excitement. The Daly Planet's archives were like a couple of paperbacks compared to this monster! She found herself giggling as a grinning McGee pointed out a few pictures from one of the case files; pictures showing McGee's face at a very close angle, looking like he'd just woken up, or had been caught completely off guard.

"Making moves on the new girl already, probie?" Came a male voice from their left. Looking over, Chloe saw Tony standing there with a grin that reminded her way too much of a smug Lex Luthor; but in a charming kind of way. McGee looked over at Tony in confusion, blinked a few times, and then looked back at Chloe. It was only then that Chloe realized how things must have looked. She was in her chair, giggling like a schoolgirl at something McGee was showing her on the screen. In fact, he had his hand on the back of her chair and was leaning over and across her to operate the mouse. She could well imagine how it might look to the casual observer. McGee had obviously figured the same thing, cause he instantly straightened up, looking flustered.

"I- I was… just…" McGee started stammering. Tony's grin widened.

"She just got here and you have her giggling already. My god, you move fast. You must teach me your mystical ways, oh wise one." McGee got flustered, opening and closing his mouth a few times without a single sound coming out. He then glanced at Chloe and hurried out of the cubicle to his own desk.

"Thanks for showing me the ropes!" Chloe called after him. She was kind of disappointed he'd left. She'd been having a good time. McGee was fun.

"So," Tony moved into her cubicle, "Civilian Agent Chloe Sullivan." He perched on the corner of her desk. "What's your story?" There it was again; that handsome devilish smile of his. Picking up a pen from her desk, Chloe leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"What makes you think there's a story?" Resting one hand on her abdomen, she fiddled with the pen in her other hand, making it 'walk' between her fingers, her green eyes fixed on Tony's face. His smile got a little more devilish.

"Oh there's always a story." Was it her imagination, or had his voice just gotten a little husky?

"And you think mine's worth hearing?" She gave a miniature questioning arch of her eyebrow.

"Call me curious."

"Alright," Chloe grinned. This guy thought he had all the right moves, did he? She inhaled a deep breath through her nose, and then… "Born and raised in Metropolis, Kansas, moved to a town called Smallville just before the eighth grade; editor of my high school newspaper with a regular staff of about 3, plus the occasional contributor; went on to MetU's journalism department, then got a job in the writer's pit at the Daily Planet, where I worked my way up from the obits to reporting actual news; got called into the boss' office one day and got handed this job on a silver platter; any questions?" She finished with a dazzling smile, having plenty of air left in her lungs after this rapid fire monologue was complete.

"Whoa." Tony chuckled, "Yeah, just one. Do you always talk this fast?"

"Only when summarizing." Chloe replied. That drew another chuckle from Tony.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"What about you?" Chloe asked, studying Tony's reaction to her question. She wondered if he always kept up his suave tough guy act.

"What about me?"

"Summarize." She grinned. "You heard mine, now I get to hear yours. It's only fair." Tony grinned, taking a moment to glance down at his own hands.

"Not everything's fair." He looked back up at her. Chloe gave a little shrug in response to that.

"Call me curious." That drew a little chuckle from him.

"Right." He said, a little distractedly, as he glanced over at her digi-frame. "Hello?" He exclaimed, picking up the frame and taking a look at the picture. "That's a healthy bunch. Hometown buddies?"

"Yeah." Chloe smiled a little wistfully as she glanced down at the frame, before getting back on topic. "Nice avoidance tactic, by the way."

"Hmm?" Tony glanced up at her, obviously pretending not to have heard what she'd just said.

"That might work on the average girl, Special Agent DiNozzo," She shook her head a little, a tiny smirk quirking her lips, "but it doesn't work on me."

"Ooh. Yikes. Full title." He feigned being rattled. "You must really be serious."

"Serious about what?" came Ziva's voice as she approached the cubicle.

"Agent Sullivan is snooping." Tony smirked at the Mosad officer.

"It sounded more like you were the one snooping and then balled on delivering on your end of the bargain." Chloe arched an eyebrow at Ziva's choice of words, and Tony blinked a few times, the look on his face indicating that he was trying to make sense of something.

"Bailed." Tony finally spoke up.

"What?" Ziva frowned in confusion.

"The uh… the word you were looking for is 'bailed' out."

"That's what I said."

"No, you said 'balled'."

"There's a difference?"

"Uh… yeah. A big one, actually."

"Special agent DiNozzo was just about to enlighten me on his story." Chloe injected as a way of explanation.

"I was not aware you were a novelist, Tony." Ziva looked curious.

"I'm not." Tony replied, examining the picture again. "She's talking about a summary of my life so far. I guess she figures I owe her. So who's the blonde?" Tony's rapid change of subject made Chloe grin. Ah! The secretive type, huh?

"That would be yours truly." Chloe's gaze flicked toward her digi-frame in Tony's hands.

"No," Tony grinned, flipping the frame over to show the group photo, "I mean the other one." He tapped the frame's screen right beneath Kara's smiling face.

"That's Kara." Chloe replied. "She's my best friend's cousin." Tony looked intrigued as he flipped the frame back around to look at the screen. Maybe a little too intrigued if that grin was any indication.

"She's a looker." He commented, making Ziva frown.

"Tony!" Ziva snapped. "I see that you taking sensitivity training was a complete waste of time." Tony looked half baffled and half confused. "She looks like a very nice girl; very wholesome, and happy. She does not look like a girl who would ever work as a--"

"Looker!!" Tony cut her off, sounding half way desperate, stopping Ziva's ramblings dead. "I said 'looker', Officer David! Looker! With an 'L'! It means 'pretty'!" Ziva blinked a few times, and then realization dawned.

"O- oh…!" She stammered. "American slang."

"Not really, but it's a word not found in many official dictionaries." Tony grumbled.

"So… you thought he said…?" Chloe queried, looking at Ziva with her eyebrows raised, probing for an answer.

"It's your language." Ziva sighed, obviously avoiding the question. "I am unaccustomed to your many ways of slang. I meant no disrespect to your friend, Chloe."

"None taken." Chloe gave a little smile, even though she kind had no idea why Ziva was apologizing. That explained a few things about Ziva's choice of words. She most likely associated slang words with the nearest official word in her vocabulary. Like the 'chanter' vs. 'charmer' mix-up earlier. So when Tony called Kara a looker, Ziva, not recognizing the word, must have acquainted it with the next official word that sounded similar; which would have been… oh… Oh!!!

"So, tell me about her." Tony's voice brought Chloe's attention back to him. He was looking at the picture again.

"I think her cousin wouldn't like me telling you anything more than I already have." Chloe said as she got up and reached for the frame, only to have Tony pull it out of her reach. "May I have my digi-frame back, please?" She asked him calmly.

"Sure." Tony's roguish grin was back. "Just tell me a little about the people in the photo." Chloe arched an eyebrow at him. It had absolutely no effect. She crossed her arms across her chest and stood into one hip as she watched him.

"Starting from the left," Chloe had drawn another big breath through her nose before opening her mouth, "my cousin Lois, who's the daughter of an Army general, and could make you cry with very little effort; my friend Jimmy, who's an intern photographer at the Daily Planet, and Kara's boyfriend; yours truly with Lana, a very good friend of mine that I've been close with ever since high school, down in front; Kara you already know; and last but not least, Clark, my best friend, Kara's cousin, and Lana's boyfriend; may I have my frame back, please?" Her fast rant complete, Chloe held her hand out for the frame. Ziva let out a sound that was half way between surprise and awe.

"Does she always talk this fast?" She asked Tony.

"Only when summarizing." Tony grinned, not taking his eyes off Chloe. "You made an assumption there that's not quite accurate." His eyebrows raised, and he gave her a look as if he were telling her 'tut tut'. "You assumed I already knew Kara. Not true."

"Fine." Chloe smirked and drew in yet another breath. "She was born and raised in Montana; spent her entire life on her father's farm, wrestling calves and rams to the ground, milking cows and sheering sheep by hand, training horses, winning rodeos, shooting minks and foxes with an old 12 gauge shotgun, and throwing full sized bales of hay up on to a hayloft. That's like tying both of those plasma screens together and throwing them up on to the landing." She indicated both the plasma screens in the open space and gave a little pointed look up to the second floor landing. Tony looked a cross between shocked and thoroughly impressed as his gaze followed Chloe's.

"Whoa… That's amazing." Tony breathed before looking at the picture again.

"Yeah," Chloe's smirk widened, "And she's only 18." Tony's head shot up to meet her gaze, wonder in his eyes.

"You're kidding?!" He guffawed. Chloe shook her head slowly. Tony looked back at the picture, obviously looking very closely at Kara. "She doesn't look 18. She looks more like a sorority girl." Uh-oh. That grin was back on his face. Chloe definitely didn't like that grin. Especially not when it was Kara he was grinning over. "A co-ed, even. You know what that means, right? That means th--"

"It means she can break you in half, DiNozzo." Came Gibbs' voice as he marched up to Tony, smacked him on the back of the head, snatched the frame out of his hand, and handed it to Chloe, who accepted it.

"I was just about to say that, boss." Tony looked more than a little sheepish under Gibbs' hard glare. Ziva snickered, obviously having the time of her life seeing Tony squirm.

"Grab your gear!" Gibbs barked, turning back toward his desk. Apparently, this meant something big, because instantly, Tony and Ziva scrambled back to their desks and started gathering up their backpacks and their jackets. McGee was doing the same. Confused, Chloe looked around and hurried to place the digi-frame back on her desk.

"Uhm… what's going on?" She ventured as she moved into the space.

"Good question." Tony quipped as he withdrew his holstered gun from the drawer in his desk. "What's up, boss?"

"We got a hit and run." Gibbs replied as he unlocked his desk drawer to retrieve his own weapon and ammo clip.

"An execution?" Ziva frowned. She seemed to do that a lot, Chloe noticed.

"Since when do we investigate car crashes?" Tony wondered.

"Since the marine in question appears to have been shot before he got run over." Gibbs grabbed his jacket and started moving around his desk, the entire team getting ready to follow.

"Uhm… guys…?" Chloe tried to inject. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Should she follow them? Was that a part of her job? "W- what…?"

"Waiting for an engraved invitation, Agent Sullivan?" Gibbs growled as he started marching down between the desks. Chloe scrambled to grab her purse before hurrying after the team.

"Uhm, sir…?" Chloe started as she caught up with Gibbs.

"Don't call me sir, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs deadpanned as he jabbed the call button for the elevator.

"Right. Sorry…."

"Don't apologize." Gibbs interrupted in that same deadpanned tone, without looking at her. "It's a sign of weakness." Chloe could have sworn she heard Tony trying to hide a snicker with a lame clearing of his throat.

"Right. Got to remember that." Chloe steeled herself. "Special Agent Gibbs; if I'm going into the field, shouldn't I have my weapon with me? It's still locked in your drawer and--"

"You haven't earned it yet, Agent Sullivan." There it was again; that nerve gnawing deadpan of a tone of his.

"Well, how do I--"

"You'll get your weapon back when I know you can handle the responsibility of carrying it." Gibbs interrupted her. Chloe had a response ready on the tip of her tongue, but right then the elevator doors opened and the team flowed into it. Chloe gave a sigh and followed. As the elevator doors closed, Gibbs gave her outfit a once over, his look neutral.

"What? Something wrong with my clothes?" Chloe asked, feeling surprisingly self-aware. She had on a very nice skirt suit and a white blouse, with the perfect pumps. It had taken her quite some time to put this outfit together this morning. Gibbs said nothing, but turned his attention to the numbers counting down the floors to the basement. Again, Tony cleared his throat in a very lame way, solidifying the suspicion in Chloe's mind that, yes, there was definitely something wrong with her clothes!

"Don't worry." Gibbs finally spoke up as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out into what looked like a huge garage, "I'm sure they have issued footgear in your size."

"Issued… what…?" Chloe blinked in confusion.

"Army boots." Tony stage whispered as he and the rest of the team passed her. "They'll go great with the skirt. Trust me." That damned grin of his was back on his face!


	8. Chapter 8

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a very special person who's been a very loyal reader of my work and a true inspiration to me.

Happy birthday, Chlollie! You truly are an amazing person. =)

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The music was set to a loud volume and boomed all around the lab. Abby tapped the rhythm with her foot as she went through the database, filing the stuff from the last case she'd been working on away in the massive NCIS evidence digital archives. A particularly good part of the song rang keyed up and Abby, putting her assignment aside, took a moment to sink into the rhythm; dancing to the song and twirling around, making her pigtails fly around her head like a halo. Upon catching a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye during one of her turns, she ground to a halt in mid turn. The world caught up with her and she gave a little stagger to the side, her eyes a little crossed.

"Whoa…" She murmured as she steadied herself on her feet and grabbed the remote to lower the volume. She then looked up toward the door… and she had to fight very hard not to laugh her ass off!

Standing in the doorway was a very grumpy looking Chloe. She was wearing a one piece navy colored NCIS jumpsuit, which was standard crime scene gear for Ducky and Palmer, among other people, a standard black NCIS windbreaker that looked about a size too large for her, black army boots that were very muddy and looked about two sizes too big, and a standard NCIS cap. And she was soaking wet!! Strands of her wet hair, that she'd obviously tried to rein in using her cap, were stuck to her face, her cheeks were rosy… and she was dripping all over Abby's floor.

"Uhm…" Abby started, her voice quivering with barely suppressed giggles, "I take it's raining?"

"Actually, no; it's not!" Chloe grumbled and moved toward the nearest table.

"HeyHeyHeyHeyHeyHey!! That's my floor!" Abby cried out, indicating the muddy footprints Chloe was leaving, "You're tracking mud all over my floor!"

"Well, you can thank the local river for that!" Chloe grumbled as she dumped the large plastic box she was carrying on the table.

"What river?" Abby frowned in confusion.

"Near the crime scene. The one I had to scour the bank of, looking for the victim's shoe." She picked up a muddy sneaker that had been carefully disposed of in a sealed and marked evidence bag, "this one, to be precise." She dropped the shoe back in the box and, resting her elbow on the box, turned slightly to face Abby in somewhat a relaxed posture, her hand on her hip. She gave a wide, and very false, smile. "It's actually a very nice scene." She said in a voice that was a little too cheery. "Lush greens on both banks of the river, the fresh country air with a hint of fertilizer, and the oh so memorable taste of sewage if you're unfortunate enough to taste the water."

"And you would know that be… cause…" Abby trailed off and looked Chloe up and down as the realization hit her. "Oh… wow…" Laughter bubbled up within her. "You 'so' did not…"

"Tony's still laughing at what he's lovingly calling my 'shrieking cartwheel act'." Chloe drawled sarcastically. "He gave it a 9.5. Said it was the best cannonball dive he's seen all year." No matter how hard she tried, Abby couldn't help but start giggling.

"You fell in?!" She squealed in mirth.

"It's not funny!" Chloe insisted, stomping her foot, which made river water slop out of her boot to the floor.

"Of course not." Abby said, sobering up instantly and looking all business. Chloe glared at the goth; a look that warned her against laughing. So, naturally, after a moment, Abby couldn't help but crack a grin and a snicker escaped her.

"Stop it!" Chloe giggled as she grabbed her cap off of her head and swatted Abby on the arm with it.

"I'm sorry." Abby giggled. "You just look too adorable, all drenched like that."

"Why thank you." Chloe gave a little curtsy which led to more river water dripping from her boots. "Special Agent Gibbs told me to bring this stuff to you." She indicated the box. "That's all the stuff gathered from the crime scene."

"Oooh goody!" Abby said excitedly, peering into the box. "You brought treats! I knew I liked you for a reason." She winked at the blond and started going through the box's contents, signing off on every item she removed. Chloe chuckled and undid the front of her windbreaker.

"Ugh! I need about 9 showers." She grouched as she pulled the front of her drenched jumpsuit away from her body with two fingers, frowning in disgust.

"How did you end up doing a shrieking cartwheel act?" Abby spoke as she continued going through the box. She was grinning like a cat though.

"I found the shoe on the bank where it had landed after the car hit the marine and—"

"Uh-Uh!" Abby stopped her with a raised finger. "Where it 'supposedly' landed after the car 'supposedly' hit the marine. Only an analysis will tell for sure if it did."

"Right." Chloe replied, pulling a strand of her drenched blond hair and frowning dejectedly at it. "So anyway, I retrieved the sneaker, bagged it, as per Special Agent Gibbs' instructions, and was on my way back when I slipped on a rock, thanks to these clown boots, here…" she raised one leg and gave her foot a little shake, making the boot rattle on her foot with a sloshing sound, "and grabbed a branch to keep from falling in."

"Obviously that didn't work." Abby snickered.

Chloe stuck her tongue out at her. "No, it didn't work. The damn thing snapped just as I was regaining my footing."

"Hence the shrieking cartwheel act." Abby concluded for her.

"It really wasn't so much a shriek as an 'oh my god I'm going to die' kind of a howl."

"Just how deep was this river?"

"About 3 and a half feet." Abby gawked at Chloe in amusement at that. "Hey! It looked a lot deeper from where I was standing!" Chloe defended herself.

"Which would justify the shriek." Abby teased.

"I didn't shriek!" Chloe huffed. "I just--"

"Shrieked like a girl seeing a mouse." Tony said as he sauntered into the lab, that annoying grin on his face. Chloe gave him a sneer half disguised as a smile.

"Thank you for that riveting analysis, Special Agent DiNozzo!" Chloe drawled. Tony's grin just widened, but it disappeared instantly when Abby swatted him on the arm, making him wince and grab the area she'd swatted.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Stop teasing Chloe!" Abby pointed a threatening finger at Tony. Chloe was touched at Abby's defense of her, although Abby threatening Tony looked a little like a 10 year old girl trying to boss her older brother around. Albeit a gothic looking 10 year old girl.

"I don't tease!" Tony said in indignation. "That's a chick thing! I rip, and torment, and occasionally mock; but I would never te--" A smack on the back of his head cut Tony's words short.

"Don't argue with Abby." Gibbs said gruffly as he passed Tony, an evidence bag in his hands.

"Gotcha boss." Tony replied, still wincing from the head smack. Abby looked very smug as she smirked at Tony.

"Water sample from the river." Gibbs held up the evidence bag. In it was an evidence jar containing a sample of murky water.

Abby winced. "Eww." She took the bag and signed off on it. "Now I get the reason for the whole shrieking cartwheel act thing." Chloe let out a sigh, feeling like the soaked jumpsuit she was wearing had just grown heavier and even clammier than it had previously. Tony smothered a grin behind his hand. If he said one word about how a water sample hadn't been necessary and that they could just have wrung her out to get the sample, she'd hurt him in ways he'd never even imagined!

"We need to close this one fast, Abbs." Gibbs said quietly.

"Can't rush science, Gibbs." Abby said as she put the sample away and turned back to face him. "But I'll get you what you need as fast as I can."

"That's all I ask." Gibbs replied as he headed for the door. "If you need more than that one water sample, you can wring out Agent Sullivan." Chloe blinked as she gaped after him in indignation. How did he know what she'd been thinking?! Tony, wicked smirk out in full force, followed Gibbs, but stopped in the doorway.

"You, uh… You might want to head over to the locker rooms and… You know." He gave a little twirl with his finger as if to indicate Chloe's form and look. Chloe sent him a withering glare.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs' bark from the elevator, made Tony jump like a scolded child.

"On your six, boss!" He hurried out the door like a pooch scurrying after his master. Chloe let out a tired sigh and slumped against the edge of a table, turning her drenched cap over in her hands.

"He hates me." She mumbled, feeling thoroughly miserable, as water dripped from her blond locks to the floor.

"Who? Tony?" Abby asked incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous. He's like that with everyone; especially hot girls. He thinks it makes him all desirable and what not." Chloe looked up, a small grateful smile on her lips.

"Not Tony." She said dejectedly. "Special Agent Gibbs. I think he really hates me."

"What?! No way! Gibbs couldn't hate anyone." Abby paused for a moment, seeming to revise that statement. "Well, he could, but you'd have to have done something seriously heinous to deserve it." Chloe didn't feel convinced. "What makes you think he hates you?" Abby continued. "Did you mess up any evidence?"

"No." Chloe replied. "I did everything exactly like he told me to."

"Did you spill something to the press?"

"No." Chloe gave a weak chuckle. "There were no media people on the scene."

"Oh god, you didn't spill his coffee, did you?" Abby looked worried at this one.

"His… What?" That question had totally derailed Chloe.

"Gibbs' coffee is sacred, okay? It's like his fuel. Like my CaffPow. You don't mess with a person's fuel. It's a big no no."

"Duly noted." Chloe grinned.

"It's like if someone tampered with the engine in your car or something, so that the combustion wouldn't do the trick and wouldn't give the car the 'oomph' it needs to haul ass down the freeway." Abby paused as if something had just crossed her mind. "You didn't shoot someone, did you?"

"What?" Chloe was shocked at the question. "No! He still has my gun locked away in his drawer!"

Abby cocked her head, looking puzzled. "Why did he lock your gun in his drawer?"

"I don't know! He said I had to 'earn it'; whatever that means."

"So if you haven't done anything heinous, why do you think Gibbs hates you?"

Chloe stared at Abby in stunned disbelief. "He hasn't said two words to me that haven't been said in a growl, a snarl, or a bark fit for a German shepherd; or accompanied by a glare sharp enough to cut diamonds! He doesn't look at me, he talks around me, hell, he doesn't even acknowledge my existence unless I've got something to share with him that he deems important! I mean…! You should have seen the look on his face when I fell in that river! It was like he thought I was the biggest Gump this side of the Atlantic!"

Her tirade exhausted, Chloe slumped against the table again, feeling just as miserable as before. What a shitty first impression to make; falling in a river on your first crime scene! Chloe felt really embarrassed as she fiddled with a hole in the visor of her cap; a hole that looked very much like a bullet hole. She remembered Gibbs' attitude toward her in the field. It had been like she hadn't even been there. He'd snapped at her for doing things wrong and had eventually sent her off to interview the kid who had found the body. Even though he'd done it again himself after she was done. She'd never felt as lonely as she had this afternoon.

"Trust me on this one, Abby, the guy hates my guts. To him I'm nothing but a worthless snoop. He said as much in the director's office when I was first assigned to his team." Abby moved over to her and wrapped her arms around her, giving her a tight hug. Chloe smiled sadly and hugged Abby back. It felt really nice.

"He doesn't hate you, Chloe." Abby said gently as she pulled back, giving Chloe an encouraging smile. "Trust me, if he hated you, you'd be in a cemetery plot right now."

Chloe let out a little mirthless laugh. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel a whole lot better."

"Gibbs is just… Gibbs." Abby said, as if that explained everything. "He's a hard nut to crack but he's a sweetheart."

"We are talking about the same guy here, right?" Chloe asked dubiously.

"He's really very nice once you get to know him." Abby beamed. "And don't worry about the whole falling the river thing. At least you didn't blow anything up."

Chloe chuckled and made a noncommittal wag of her head. "Good point." Abby nodded once as if the matter was settled.

"Now, off to the locker rooms with you, for a change of clothes." She pointed toward the door, a bright smile on her face. "And maybe a shower too. You kinda reek from that slush that passes for river water out there."

"Right." Chloe chuckled and headed for the door, but stopped in the doorway. "Hey, Abby?" The goth looked up expectantly. "Thanks." Chloe smiled gratefully. "You know… for… everything."

"Anytime." Abby winked as she grinned back at the blond. As Chloe headed for the locker rooms, she felt a lot better.


	9. Chapter 9

"Victim's name is..." Tony clicked the remote with a dramatic flourish and an image of the victim's armed forces profile appeared on the plasma screen, "Seaman Michael Horton, 21, stationed on the Galloway for the past 11 months, where his main duties consisted of peeling potatoes, cleaning carrots, and stirring pots. It was his first stationing within the navy."

"He was the chef?" Ziva inquired, coming up behind Tony and squinting at the screen.

"Busboy;" Tony corrected her, "one of four such upstanding soldiers, whose duties are vital to the running of the ship." The sarcasm was not lost on anyone present.

"Every man is vital on a ship, DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he came up behind the group, studying the victim's photo on the screen. "The ones at the bottom of the food chain are often even more so."

"I know, boss… I- I didn't mean to imply th--"

"What do we have on him?" Gibbs cut Tony's explanation off.

"Nothing." Tony quickly took his cue and clicked the remote again. "No citations, no promotions, no 'atta boys', not even a comment on his report." Chloe, who was standing off to the side a bit, had to admire Tony's ability to jump in and recover from embarrassing moments.

"Are you telling me his jacket's empty?" Gibbs frowned.

"Well, aside from the documentation from his basic training and his orders of assignment, yeah. He had his first annual service review coming up next month, though."

"The call came in reporting him as a marine." Gibbs looked puzzled.

"Apparently the local LEOs don't know their uniforms very well." Tony mumbled before continuing, "He applied for the marines first but made a switch just before he was scheduled to leave for basic training."

Gibbs frowned. "He switched?"

"Yeah." Tony shrugged.

"Why?"

"Maybe he preferred the sea air over crawling around in the dirt." Tony obviously realized his mistake when Gibbs looked at him with that intense glare of his. "Well, wha- what I meant to say was that… he… that is to say—"

"What else do we have on him?!" Gibbs snapped, addressing the group at large.

Ziva snatched the remote out of Tony's hand and clicked it, making the info she'd gathered appear on the plasma. "He has no record with the authorities; aside from a speeding ticket 13 months ago and a parking ticket a week before he shipped out."

"Where?" Gibbs asked, annoyed. Ziva looked a little puzzled. "Where were the tickets issued?!" he clarified. Ziva zoomed in.

"Speeding ticket was issued by an officer Gregory Banks on June 14th on Campus Drive at the University of Maryland College Park, and the parking ticket was issued by the same officer on Preinkert Drive in the same area."

"He was a student?"

Ziva shook her head. "He is not enrolled and has not attended a school of any kind since graduating high school. There is also no sign of the car that is registered in his name; a tan Nova."

"You're kidding?" Tony piped up. "The kid drove a Nova?"

"According to the registry, yes." Ziva replied. Tony snorted in obvious disgust. "I put out a BOLO on it." Ziva added to Gibbs.

"Finances?" Gibbs turned his attention to McGee, who accepted the remote from Ziva and clicked it to bring his info on to the screen.

"Bank statements for the last year indicate nothing out of the ordinary. Statements from a year before he shipped out reveal nothing major either. He has no stocks, no multiple accounts, he has a credit card but he hardly ever uses it. The records of its use show a grand total of 8 transactions within the last 18 months. He basically lived off his salary. Current standing of his bank account is $247.89. He is currently the joined owner, along with his sister, Rachel, of a house in Potomac Falls, left to the siblings by their maternal grandmother."

"I want to talk to that girl." Gibbs said with finality.

"Might be a little tricky, boss." Tony piped up and snatched the remote from McGee's hand. With a click of a button, a second service record appeared on the screen. "Lt. Rachel Horton, 27, an aviator on the USS Excelsior. They're 39 days into their stay in the gulf." Gibbs did not look happy with that piece of info. Chloe had to admire the dynamic between the teammates when it came to the remote. It was almost like a group of kids forced to share a favorite toy.

"His sister's a pilot?" Ziva asked, looking impressed.

"And a damn good one." Tony nodded, clicking the remote several times to bring up more and more info on the woman. "Look at this; we're talking commendations galore. She's been recommended for Lieutenant Commander."

"What did Ducky say about the body?!" Gibbs snapped, clearly running low on patience. McGee snatched the remote out of Tony's hand, much to his annoyance, and clicked it. An overhead shot of the body showed up on the screen.

"Cause of death was blunt force trauma." McGee recited quickly. "That's plural… actually. Uhm… most of Horton's legs were in splinters all over the road and, according to Ducky, it's amazing that Horton's skeletal structure is in as good a condition as it is, considering that Horton appears to have been hit at high speed and then gotten dragged along the road along with the car. Abby found evidence of paint on Horton's clothes and matched it to a cobalt blue car paint used almost exclusively on Dodge pickup trucks models ranging from '94 through '98." Chloe couldn't manage to keep from shuddering. What a horrible way to die! She felt an eerie hush fall over the group all of a sudden and looked up to find herself the center of the group's attention.

"Anytime now, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs prompted. The annoyance in his gaze wasn't lost on Chloe. She hurried over and plucked the remote from McGee's hand.

"I think I may have found something." She said with an embarrassed smile. With a click of a button, an image of an opening from a high school yearbook popped up on the screen. "This is Michael Horton's class yearbook from high school." Chloe started.

"We can see that." Gibbs said in that restrained calm of his. "What does it have to do with the case?"

"I'm getting to that." Chloe clicked another button, bringing up a picture of a slightly younger looking Michael Horton. "In high school, Horton had very few friends. One of them was this girl here;" She brought up a picture of a gorgeous blond girl. "Casey Friedman." Tony grinned and made a sound of approval which made Ziva roll her eyes in exasperation. "According to the yearbook," Chloe trudged on, ignoring Tony's reaction, "Horton and Friedman were very close." She clicked the button again, bringing up a picture of the two people in question all dressed up and beaming at the camera. "They even went to the prom together."

"The case, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs said pointedly. Tony hid a snicker behind his hand. Chloe clicked the button again, bringing up a record of enrolment for a university student; one that had Casey's picture on it.

"Casey Friedman attends the University of Maryland; majoring in journalism. While it's true that Horton didn't have a connection to the university personally, he did have a reason to be there." She turned to Ziva. "Those tickets were issued on Campus Drive and Preinkert Drive, right?"

"Yes." Ziva nodded. "The speeding one on Campus Drive, near the United Methodist Church, and the parking ticket on Preinkert, outside Somerset Hall." Chloe clicked the button again and a map of the University campus appeared on the screen.

"That's Campus Drive." With a click of the remote, the street in question lit up. "And that's Preinkert." Another click lit up the second street that met the first one perpendicularly. "Casey Friedman lives at Somerset Hall; right where Horton got his parking ticket. It's her dorm." A click of the remote lit up a location on the map, "And the journalism department building is literally right next to it." Another click and another location lit up, some 200 yards from the first one.

"How is any of this relevant?" Gibbs asked in exasperation.

"After making a few phone calls, I discovered that Horton and Friedman weren't all that buddy buddy anymore." Chloe trudged on. "Seems that Horton had an issue with his sister's boyfriend."

"Her boyfriend?" Tony asked incredulously. Gibbs did a little half roll of his eyes and turned away from the screen. Uh-oh! Not good! She'd better make her point; and fast!

"Yeah." Chloe clicked the remote again and the image of a Virginia state driver's license appeared on the screen, complete with a picture of a rather rough looking guy. "Meet Derek Friedman; Casey's older step brother. He and Rachel Horton have been seeing each other for a year and a half."

"And when you say issues…?" Tony asked with raised eyebrows.

"His neighbor wouldn't say, but from what I gather, Friedman's a very confrontational kind of guy."

"You called his neighbor?" Tony chuckled. "Why would you do that?"

"To get a little back-story on the guy." Chloe replied and clicked the remote once more. A number of police reports showed up on the screen. "Seems like he's got a bit of a temper." Gibbs turned around again, looking at the screen. Okay… at least he looked interested. That was a bit on the positive side, at least. "And…" she clicked the remote one more time, "Guess who owns a 1995 Dodge pickup." She smiled ruefully at Tony, whose look had darkened considerably as he glared at the picture on the screen, showing Derek Friedman posing next to his pickup truck. His very cobalt blue 1995 model Dodge pickup truck! Apparently, Tony wasn't finding any of this even remotely funny anymore.

"Is this address current?" Gibbs had moved to closer to the screen and was glaring at the guy's picture as if he'd done him a personal injustice.

"Yes it is." Chloe replied. "But according to his neighbor, he seemed to be getting ready to leave on a hunting trip or something. They said he was packing up his truck in a bit of a hurry."

"Tony, call the local LEOs! Tell them to make sure that guy doesn't leave!" Gibbs snapped as he made his way to his desk.

"On it boss!" Tony immediately jumped into action.

"Ziva, get a car! You and Tony are going to pay Mr. Friedman a little visit!" Gibbs barked. Ziva likewise jumped to do as she was told. "McGee! Get down to the University of Maryland! Talk to Friedman's sister! Find out anything you can on her relationship with Horton and get her take on the people involved!"

"Got it boss." McGee scrambled to his desk to get ready. Chloe stood there, not really sure what she should do.

"Yes, Agent Sullivan?!" Gibbs' said pointedly, not even looking up from the info on the screen he was hunched over. Chloe moved over to his desk, stopping before it.

"What should I do?" It sounded pathetic to ask something like this, but she really had no clue what to do now; or rather, what she was supposed to do. Gibbs remained silent, still glaring at the info on the screen on his desk. Chloe heard Tony snicker again as he and Ziva hurried for the elevator. McGee passed behind her and as she glanced up to see him follow Tony and Ziva to the elevator, he turned and gave her a small smile and a discrete thumbs-up, which she took to mean 'good job'. She gave a grateful smile back and a nod of thanks.

"You, Agent Sullivan," Gibbs finally spoke up, "are coming with me." He straightened up and rounded his desk, heading for the stairs at a brisk pace. Taken a little aback, Chloe hurried to catch up with him.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked as she tried to keep up with him. It wasn't exactly easy in her skirt suit and pumps. He was a very brisk walker!

"Why did you call Friedman's neighbor?" Gibbs asked as he started up the stairs, not even glancing her way.

"What?" Chloe asked as she hurried up the stairs after him.

"You called his neighbor rather than going through official channels." Gibbs continued. "Why?"

"It's the best way to get info on people." Chloe replied as she followed hot on his heels. "A neighbor sees things that other people don't. It may not be their intention to pry, but they always notice something. And while they may not always be reliable, and may sometimes even be very biased in their judgment of people, they give you a solid look into the person's daily life. Once you pick through the whole mess that is their story." Gibbs made a sound that sounded like he was almost impressed.

"Interesting." He said flatly.

"Thank you… I guess…" Chloe wasn't sure how to take that. They reached the landing and Gibbs made a beeline for a sturdy looking metal door that was situated in an equally sturdy looking metal wall. "Uh, sir…?"

"Don't call me sir."

"Sorry…" Chloe winced, mentally berating herself, "boss…" She really needed to remember that! She glanced up at the writing on the metal wall, wondering what the hell the abbreviation M.T.A.C. stood for. "Where are we going?" Gibbs leaned in toward what Chloe quickly discovered was a retinal scanner.

"We're going to have a little chat." Gibbs replied as the door's locking mechanism disengaged.

"With whom?" Chloe asked as Gibbs opened the door.

"Lt. Rachel Horton." He replied simply and indicated for her to follow him inside. Feeling very confused, Chloe did as instructed.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey there everybody. :-)

I'm sorry for not having been able to update in so long. Real life has gotten in the way of my writing so I've had to put my stories on hold for a while. I promise I'll try to update as much as possible, though. Whenever I get the time to write, I'll do what I can. I want to keep you, my readers, happy. :-)

Thank you so much for all your reviews, comments and PMs. I really appreciate every single of them. Please, keep them coming. Good or bad, I want to hear what people think. :-)

Take care, everybody. :-)

* * *

The word 'awe' did not do Chloe's state of mind when she'd entered the room. MTAC, the Navy's Multiple Threat Assessment Center, was a command center that would make any MMORPG nerd, conspiracy freak, or gun nut in the country pee their pants with excitement. Satellite feeds, infrared and UV scanning, operation coordination equipment, over a dozen manned stations monitoring everything from traffic across the Mexican border to suspected militia movements deep in the heart of the Iraqi desert... It was like the world's coolest candy store. Chloe's inner geek was going through the biggest gadget rush of its life!

The happenings on the giant plasma screen in front of her right now weren't anything to be excited over, however. The screen showed a woman in her late 20's, stationed on a navy ship thousands of miles away, trying desperately not to break down in hysterical sobs after hearing the news that her younger brother, her only living family, had been killed. Chloe's heart ached at the sight of the young brunette, whose eyes were brimming with tears as she tried to keep her composure; and was failing miserably. Chloe guessed it was because of the whole thing about a soldier never showing weakness; which was something that Chloe viewed as a load of bull. Soldiers were people too, damnit! They were allowed to have feelings!

"You were sent to the infirmary on the moment of your arrival on board." Gibbs said flatly; not looking up from the report he was examining. "Why was that?"

"Sir…?" Lt. Horton replied in confusion. The question had come completely out of left field. Her voice was trembling with emotion and she quickly brushed away a tear that had managed to escape her eye. Gibbs looked up at the screen.

"Your sign in sheet notes that you were sent to the infirmary. The petty officer had concerns about bruising on your neck and the fact that you seemed to be favoring your left arm." The young woman on the screen shifted a little. Gibbs' words were definitely making the young lieutenant uncomfortable.

"I- it was nothing…" the young woman on the screen glanced to the left for a split second before returning her gaze forward. Chloe's eyes narrowed a fraction as she watched the screen from several feet behind her boss. She knew that gesture! When a person is trying to remember something, instinct shifts their eyes to the right. A shift to the left, however, meant that the person was trying to make things up on the spot. The lieutenant was lying! "I- I was out hiking a couple of days before deployment and I slipped into a ravine."

"Hiking." Gibbs echoed, looking back down and flipping a page over in the report.

"Yeah." She gave a lame little shrug. "It was no big deal."

"The ship's doctor seemed to disagree." Gibbs stated mater-of-factly. "He recommended that you be taken off duty."

"N- no, It was nothing. Honest…" Chloe could hear the note of desperation in the lieutenant's voice. She definitely wasn't telling them something. "I told him, I can fly that Seahawk with both hands tied behind my back."

"It's strange how you didn't mention the hiking trip to the petty officer." Gibbs said flatly, "Or to the ship's doctor. You told him you'd fallen down a flight of stairs." He looked up at the screen again and Chloe could have sworn she saw the young lieutenant start sweating.

"Wha-- I, uhm…" Oh yes! She was definitely sweating!

"Do you know a Derek Friedman?" Gibbs cut her off. The young lieutenant's reaction to this question was not lost on Chloe. She actually went pale!

"Errr… w- why…?"

"It's a simple question, lieutenant." Gibbs closed the file he had in his hands, his gaze not wavering.

"Wha- I… guess so, I…" She stammered.

"You guess so?" Gibbs echoed. "According to our intel the two of you have had a romantic involvement for over a year."

"Well…" The lieutenant glanced away in what Chloe could have sworn was embarrassment. "I- I mean… how well can you really know someone, y'know…?" She gave a weak little smile and half-hearted one shouldered shrug.

"Describe him to me." Gibbs said flatly.

"Uh, w- well… 6'2"… dark hai—"

"His temperament." Gibbs cut her off flatly. The young lieutenant hesitated and Chloe could literally see her mind working as the lieutenant stared back at Gibbs.

"A- are you…" She hesitated as a look of shock and suspicion came over her pretty face, "are you saying that Derek is involved? With Mike's death? Are you investigating him?!" Okay, whoa! She was raising her voice? Gibbs said nothing, his face set in stone. "No…" The lieutenant shook her head in disbelief, clearly looking upset. "No, you're wrong! Derek would never lay a hand on Mike!"

"And you know that for a fact?"

"Yeah! I know that for a fact!" Oh yeah! She was definitely getting upset! "Derek had 'nothing' to do with this! He and Mike may not have been the best of buds but Derek would never hurt Mike! Never! Derek is a good man!" Her eyes brimmed with tears again. "If you wanna check someone out, you talk to that bitch of a sister of his!"

"Did she have a problem with your brother?" Gibbs remained icy calm despite the lieutenant's outburst.

"A problem?!" The snort that followed these words was anything but ladylike. "That little bitch had issues with everyone who got close to her brother! Mike mentioned something about Derek being a little hot tempered once and she went ballistic on him!" the lieutenant swiped angrily at a tear that had slipped down her cheek. "That kid is screwed in the head! It's like she's obsessed with Derek. She has this creepy way of looking at him that's just…" the young woman shivered in obvious revulsion, "It's like she wants him all to herself; in a non-family type way."

"And Mr. Friedman's reaction to—"

"Corporal." The lieutenant cut off Gibb's question before he could finish it. That single word seemed to be almost an automatic response.

"Excuse me?" Gibbs replied, his gaze narrowing. The lieutenant faltered under his gaze.

"Corporal… Friedman." The she said hesitantly. "Derek's an army corporal." Chloe's jaw dropped in shock. No way! She had checked this guy out thoroughly! Nowhere, in any of his paperwork, had there been even the slightest mention of an army career. She could see Gibbs' hackles rising. Uh-oh! Not good! "He transferred over to Virginia about two and a half years ago."

"From where?!" Gibbs growled. The lieutenant faltered for a moment

"Technically, we're not allowed to talk about our service hist-."

"I know the rules, lieutenant!" Gibbs snapped. He was getting more and more annoyed by the second. The young woman swallowed hard. She knew more than she was telling them.

"It…" she glanced away from the screen. "It was a special ops unit run out of an army base in Kansas."Chloe blinked. Wait… a special ops unit? In Kansas?

"Who's his CO?!" Again, the lieutenant faltered, looking like she really didn't want to say anymore.

"Derek…" she paused, not daring to look up at the screen again. "Derek just kept calling him 'the general'." Chloe's eyes went impossibly wide at the sound of the nickname. Oh god no! Oh please god no! She knew that nickname far too well for her own liking! Anyone but him, please!

"I need a name, lieutenant!" Gibbs snapped. The lieutenant winced at the harsh order. Don't say it! Please don't say it! Chloe was silently pleading with any god who was willing to listen to let it be some 'other' three star general than the one she had in mind.

"Lane, sir." the young woman said, "General Sam Lane."

"Shit!!" Chloe swore under her breath as she paced away from the screen with her back to it, one hand on her hip, the other rubbing her forehead. This was not good!! The main suspect in the first case she takes part in was a serviceman in her uncle's very secret special ops unit?! How the hell could she not have spotted that one?! She'd hacked into service records before with no problems! And this Derek guy had no such thing! She'd checked! She was sure she'd checked! How had she missed this?! Crap! Gibbs was going to skin her alive for this one!


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm telling you, I checked every nook and cranny of this guy's background! There was nothing on him having a military career!"

"Obviously you missed something!!" Gibbs snarled, standing mere inches away from Chloe in the semi- darkened elevator that he'd stopped between floors. It was intimidating. Correction; it was VERY intimidating!

"No I did not!" Chloe's voice had risen in pitch and she hated how desperate it made her sound. "I checked everything! Financial records, education, employment records, I checked every single shred of material I could find! The only thing I had left to do was hack the damn Pentagon!" The reaction this statement brought on from Gibbs was intense. Chloe could swear she could feel an aura of authority emanating from her boss' very being. It made him look like he was swelling in size. He lowered his head, glaring at her from underneath his scowling brow with such intensity that Chloe felt like she was staring into the eyes of a severely pissed off wolf rather than her boss. He moved closer to her and Chloe felt herself compelled to back away from him. She didn't have too far to go, however, and a step or two later her back hit the wall of the elevator.

"Never!" Gibbs growled in that low intense tone of voice of his, his fierce gaze drilling into Chloe's green eyes, "so much as let that idea cross your mind again!" Chloe really didn't understand what made her so intimidated by this guy. She'd stared down people far more powerful than Gibbs before; both more physically powerful and influentially. Maybe it was the fact that she was alone with him in a very confined space with absolutely no way of escaping. "Hacking," Gibbs continued, "is illegal!"

"Right…" Chloe nodded feeling herself unable to glance away from that intense gaze. "Gotcha…" Gibbs stared at her in silence for a moment, glaring into her eyes.

"What else?" He asked suddenly. Chloe blinked in surprise.

"What…?"

"What else I should know?" He clarified. Chloe opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"What makes you think there's something else?" She said finally. Gibbs tilted his head a just the tiniest bit but remained quiet. She had his uninterrupted attention. "Okay… actually…" she started, knowing that if she hoped to get out of this elevator before Christmas, she'd better tell him what was up. "It's about General Lane…"

"What about him?" Gibbs prompted, his intense gaze never wavering.

"I… sort of know him." Chloe replied. Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "We're kinda related."

"What?!" Gibbs frowned. It was obvious that he did not like the sound of that.

"We're not exactly what you might call close." Chloe hurried to clarify, "Actually, we hardly even speak, but… he's my cousin Lois' dad. So… He's kinda my uncle." Gibbs stayed silent for what felt like a long time. Chloe was starting to get worried… but then he spoke.

"You're off the case." He said finally as he turned toward the controls and flicked the emergency stop switch. The lights came back on and the elevator started moving again.

"What?!" She gaped at him. Those were not the words she'd expected to hear!

"I can't have you working a case involving a member of your own family." He said as he watched the indicator lights above the door.

"But--!" She spluttered.

"It's conflict of interests." He said flatly.

"Actually, it's not!" Chloe tried to defend herself. Gibbs said nothing. He just kept staring at the indicator lights.

Chloe felt her temper flare. There was no way he was getting away with ignoring her! He WOULD listen to her! She quickly reached over and flicked the emergency stop switch, stopping the elevator dead and plunging it back into semi-darkness. Gibbs turned his head to look at her, looking half way between exasperated and annoyed.

"Oh I'm sorry! Are you the only one allowed to do that?!" She snapped sarcastically. Gibbs turned to her fully, looking anything but then amused. Chloe stood her ground. "For your information, my uncle and I haven't said two words to each other in ages! As a matter of fact, the last time we had a conversation that lasted more than six seconds was four years ago! He sees me as the mouthpiece of the 'ignorant liberal media' and I see him as the representative of why this country is going down in flames! He's like a child that sulks when he doesn't get his way and he dislikes me because I see him for what he truly is, rather than focusing on the uniform and the brilliantly glimmering stars on his shoulders! So yeah, you can safely say that I'm definitely not on his Christmas card list!" Gibbs said nothing, but simply watched her. Chloe stood her ground. There was no way she going to be sidelined just because she was unlucky enough to be related to the main suspect's superior! A corner of Gibbs' lips twitched into an amused grin and he gave a weird little jerk of his head that was half way between a nod and a shake of the head as he turned back to face the controls.

"Oh you're definitely off the case." He all but chuckled and flicked the emergency stop switch, bringing the elevator back to life. Chloe was fuming! She darted forward and flicked the emergency stop switch again, stopping the elevator. Gibbs looked exasperated.

"There is no conflict of interest!" she argued. "The guy thinks I'm not worth the time of day!"

"You are off the case because of that very reason." Gibbs stated flatly. Chloe opened her mouth to object but Gibbs turned to face her, the look in his eyes far from amused. "Do you think I'm about to hand an army general the power to call my team's investigation into question?!" Chloe frowned in confusion. Wait… what? Gibbs seemed to have read her mind."A disgruntled family member of his working as a member of the investigating team could sabotage the result of the investigation just to get back at him for whatever reason!" Chloe gaped in complete shock.

"I would never--!!" she shrieked in insult.

"I know that!!" Gibbs thundered, "But it's still an opening he could use before a higher authority if he doesn't like the result of the investigation!!" Chloe clamped her mouth shut. It was a chore, given how enraged she was. She had to admit, though, that she hadn't thought of it from this particular angle. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked away. This was not right!!

"So? What, am I just benched?" She couldn't help the slight quiver of anger and disappointment in her voice. Gibbs said nothing. He just turned to the controls again. Chloe closed her eyes, feeling the frustration boiling within her until she couldn't contain it anymore. This was so unfair!! "This is my first case, Gibbs!" she wailed, shocking herself with how desperate and pleading it sounded in its frustration. "As you may have noticed, I know exactly squat about actual forensics! And this is the only chance I'll get to really see how an investigation works before I'm thrown into the deep end with the sharks! I can't help being related to this guy! If it were up to me, I wouldn't be! If you want to kick me off this case, do it because I screwed up! Not because of who I'm related to!" Gibbs had his finger on the emergency stop switch… but he hadn't flicked it yet. Chloe felt her chest tighten. This was 'so' not how she had seen her first case with the team going! "I'll do 'anything' that needs doing." She tried to keep her voice from wavering. "Please…" She could feel her eyes stinging with unshed tears of frustration and she hated that the possibility of getting thrown off her very first case for something she had no control over was affecting her this much. "I'll do doughnut runs, I'll get lunch for the team, I'll… I'll make coffee--" Gibbs gave her a sharp look and she found herself backpedaling in a big hurry. "O- okay… okay, I won't touch the coffee…" she held up her hands in a sign of surrender. Gibbs looked her over, his mind clearly going a mile a minute. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, he turned to face her. She looked up at him through her lashes, meeting his eyes. The look he was giving her made her feel like a ten year old getting "the way of the world" talk from her father.

"You don't touch any evidence," Gibbs' tone, although quiet, was grave; making it clear that nothing he was about to say to her should be taken lightly, "in full or in part." Chloe could feel a ray of hope coming alive within her. "You don't type a single word in a case report. You don't talk to any of the people involved, and by that I mean witnesses, suspects, members of common law enforcement, military personnel or anyone else I see fit to involve in this case; you don't even look in their direction. You don't check facts or do a single check on anyone involved and you do not breathe a word regarding this case to your uncle. You do 'exactly' what I say, when I say; no more, no less. Understood?"

The relief that flooded through her was unlike any she had felt in a long time. She nodded vigorously, hugging herself loosely and trying to blink away the tears she could feel welling up in her eyes, all the while trying to beat down the ever mounting urge to squeal with excitement. "Perfectly." She managed to say around the lump in her throat. "I'll play the good little observer. You won't even know I'm there. I promise." Gibbs watched her for a moment longer, studying her eyes. Then he turned back to the controls and flicked the emergency stop switch, bringing the elevator back to life. Chloe gave a tiny sniffle and tried to pass it off as her clearing her throat as she composed herself. Silence reigned in the elevator as it descended. Chloe glanced toward Gibbs, seeing him staring up at the indicator lights. "Thank you." She said softly, feeling she should at least thank him for letting her stay on the case, even in such a diminished capacity.

"Don't thank me just yet, Agent Sullivan." Gibbs said as the elevator slowed down. "If you think you're not in shark infested waters right now, you've got another thing coming." The doors slid open and Gibbs exited without a glance back in her direction. Chloe stepped out of the elevator and took a moment to steady herself. Letting herself recline against the wall next to the elevator, she let out a long breath and raked her fingers through her hair. Gibbs had a point. Her uncle was involved in this case. However slight his involvement, he still was. She was 'definitely' in shark infested waters here! And her relation with him meant that not only was she there without a lifejacket; she was also bleeding!


	12. Chapter 12

Alright people! Time for another update! :-)

I'd like to thank everybody for your amazing reviews and messages. I am truly touched by the feedback I've received. Thank you so much for reading my story.

I hope I'll be able to update again soon (if the chaos that is my life permits me time to do any writing *lol*)

Thank you again so much for reading my story, and remember, I loooooove reviews, so please feel free. Good ones, bad ones, comments, remarks, corrections… every bit helps me make "Agent Sullivan" a better story and hopefully a better read for all of you readers out there. :-)

So, without further ado, here's the update. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-)

* * *

Chloe's foot bounced rapidly under her desk. The muffled quick staccato thumping of the heel of her pump against the thin carpet was as close as she would allow herself to show how nervous she was. She was grinding her hands together in her lap to stop herself from biting her fingernails. It was a disgusting habit that she was very grateful to have kicked.

Tony and Ziva had showed up about fifteen minutes ago with Derek Friedman in handcuffs. Apparently he had resisted the arrest and had actually slugged Tony. Ziva, demonstrating a complete lack of subtlety, or rather just plain good instincts, had then twisted Friedman up like a pretzel and buried his face in the dirt before slapping the cuffs on him. Tony was of course telling Gibbs, and anyone in the immediate area, for that matter, all about it in extravagant details, and trying to convince him that he had actually "allowed" Friedman to punch him so that Ziva could get the drop on him. Tony's story wasn't fooling anybody. The bruise that was quickly appearing on his jaw was a testament to the fact that Friedman had caught Tony completely off guard. Shortly after Tony and Ziva had arrived, Chloe's uncle had showed up, and he'd been shown directly into the director's office. Chloe was amazed at how quickly the General had responded. This Friedman guy must be something else! He hadn't seen Chloe as he'd made his way up the stairs, which suited her just fine. The less she saw of him the better.

The phone on Gibbs' desk started ringing and Gibbs picked it up on the second ring. Chloe tried not to listen in on the conversation, choosing rather to focus on the image displayed in the digi-frame on her desk. The image showed herself and Lois, giggling madly, and having a mock fight with the cushions from the couch in their apartment above the Talon coffeehouse. She gave a small smile as she watched the image. She really missed the whole gang back in Smallville. Talking to them on the phone and through video conferencing over the internet really wasn't the same as having them there in person.

At his desk, Gibbs hung up the phone and got up from his chair. Chloe instinctively darted out of her seat and looked over the partition that separated her cubicle from McGee's desk. Gibbs was moving around his desk. He shot her a grave look and hooked his finger in a "come here" motion; a clear indication for her to follow him if she'd ever seen one. Chloe scrambled out of her cubicle and quickly fell into step with him.

"Where are we going?" She asked, feeling her nerves tightening.

"Director wants a word." Gibbs said simply.

"Oh." She felt her heart rate quicken. "What about?" Gibbs just remained quiet and started up the stairs. "Gibbs?" Chloe prompted as she followed him up the stairs. He didn't respond; just remained quiet. God, she hated when he did that!

They entered the director's waiting room, that doubled as Cynthia's office space, and Gibbs strode right on ahead. He pointed to one of the waiting room's chairs to his left.

"Sit." He said simply, not missing a step in his stride as he marched right passed Cynthia. Chloe felt like a dog in obedience school.

"Special Agent Gibbs! You can't just-!" Cynthia's protested, rising from her seat in indignation. But her protests fell on deaf ears as Gibbs opened the door to the director's office, marched right on in and shut the door behind him.

"Right… So, I guess… I'll just… wait right here, then." Chloe said lamely and slid into the chair Gibbs had indicated. Cynthia glared at the closed door to the director's office and then let out a long suffering sigh slumping a bit in her posture as she massaged her left temple.

"That man is going to be the death of me some day." She grumbled.

The wait out in the waiting room felt incredibly long. Chloe felt like time had slowed down to a crawl and was even going backwards at times. She could hear nothing of what was being said on the other side of the door; which was rather odd. The General wasn't exactly known for keeping his voice down when something upset him. Could the office be soundproof? Finally, the door opened to reveal Gibbs standing just inside the office. He gave her an indication to enter with his finger and Chloe got up from her seat. She quickly straightened her skirt and her jacket and ran a quick hand through her hair, all of which seemed to annoy Gibbs to no end, and then she walked toward the door. The look on her uncle's face as she entered the office was priceless! Never in her life had she seen the man as stumped!

"What is this, a joke?" General Sam Lane shot at the director as Chloe stopped half way between the director's desk and the door, clasping her hands behind her. The familiar question brought none too fond memories of when she'd met Gibbs for the first time into Chloe's mind. Director Shepard, standing behind her desk, calmly raised her eyebrows at the General. Chloe heard the door to the office close behind her and from her peripheral vision she saw Gibbs move over to the conference table. "'This' is who you've been getting your information from?" The General snapped, indicating Chloe. "I don't know what passes for a 'credible source' within NCIS guidelines, but I would hardly call the ravings of someone who collects conspiracy theories on their wall solid leads!" Director Shepard gave a small enigmatic smile. Chloe could have sworn that the good General had just played right into the director's hands.

"General Lane," the director spoke up, "may I introduce NSIC Civilian Agent Chloe Sullivan." The General looked over at Chloe, looking like he'd just been hit smack in the face with an entire truckload of eggs. "Agent Sullivan, I believe you already know Lieutenant General Sam Lane of the United States Army?"

"Indeed I do, director." Chloe looked over at her Uncle and found she was unable to keep a tiny bit of smugness out of her smile. "General." She addressed him courteously with a small nod of her head. Sam Lane watched Chloe for a moment, his visage steely.

"Well well." He said finally as a stiff smile spread across his lips, "I thought I'd seen everything, but…" He gave a little chuckle, "Chloe Sullivan, joining a government agency?" He gave a little shake of his head as he looked her over, "I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day." Chloe clenched her jaw to keep from saying something that would harm her already tentative participation in this case. Instead she simply smiled at him.

"Always a pleasure, General." Her smile was so saccharine sweet that diet-soda manufacturers would have been able to use that single smile as a repository for years to come. "And just a little update; the wall of weird came down when I graduated high school. Like the fall of the Berlin wall, it marked the end of an era. Besides, all those newspaper articles were so demanding of wall space." Her smile widened. "I've gone digital now. So much more efficient." Her eyes gleamed with pure wickedness. Sometimes, she just LOVED pushing the General's buttons! The General's smile faltered and he turned back to the director.

"Quite frankly, director Shepard, I don't see how any of…" he paused, looking almost amused at some private joke, "'Agent' Sullivan's intel is reliable." He had emphasized Chloe's title as if it were a big joke. Chloe's eyes widened a bit in indignation. "I mean, let's face it, she isn't exactly the most reliable source of information."

"Excuse me?" Chloe burst out before she could stop herself. How dare he call her findings into question?

"What with her background as a conspiracy activist," The General continued, completely ignoring her outburst, "and her being convinced that every branch of the military is keeping secrets from the American people, I'm surprised you're even considering her questionable findings evidence." Chloe's felt her cool teetering on a very thin edge.

"But you are keeping secrets." Director Shepard said calmly. The General's eyebrows arched a bit in an obvious fake gesture of a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Pardon me?" He asked.

"Derek Friedman has no ties to any branch of the military." The director continued unfazed, "Yet here you stand, demanding that he be released this instant. Care to tell us why?" General Lane bristled at this.

"As I have already stated, Derek Friedman is a fine upstanding young man who has been of great service to the United States Army." His words were clipped and official. To Chloe, it sounded like the General was reciting a well rehearsed script. "Having him brought into the naval yard in handcuffs is not only demeaning, it is also unpatriotic."

"He physically assaulted one of my agents." The director stated coldly. "Quite frankly, he should consider himself lucky that my agents didn't shoot him."

"They had no business accosting him outside his home!" The General raised his voice. Chloe felt the urge to roll her eyes. Oh great! Here we go! "He has an outstanding record and a fine reputation within his community!"

"Not according to local law enforcement, as I understand it." The director replied in that calm tone of hers as she sat down at her desk. She put on her glasses and opened the file folder in front of her. "Agent Sullivan," she addressed Chloe as she started scanning the first page, "how many local police reports did you uncover naming Mr. Friedman as the perpetrator?"

"Fourteen, ma'am." Chloe replied. The director had the file in front of her, but Chloe could see why she wanted to hear the facts out loud. It made a heavier impact with the General.

"A string of petty crimes!" The General snorted, "The childish rebellion by a misguided youth! That's all it was!" The director leveled her intense gaze on the General over the rim of her glasses.

"Agent Sullivan," she addressed Chloe again, her gaze never wavering from the General's eyes, "what were the charges against Mr. Friedman?" Chloe glanced between the director and the General. They looked like a pair of wild cats locked in a staring match for dominance.

"Harassment, destruction of property, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment are the ones that really stand out, ma'am." Chloe replied.

"Well well, General." The corners of the director's mouth twitched just a tiny bit. "Sounds like your man isn't as respectable as you'd like us to believe."

"That was a long time ago, director!" The General growled. "He has turned his life around!" Chloe could see the question coming before the director even opened her mouth.

"Agent Sullivan," The director addressed Chloe for the third time, her gaze still locked on the General, "When was the latest police report filed against Mr. Friedman?"

"Six weeks ago, director." Chloe had just managed to get the last syllable out of her mouth before the good General reached his boiling point.

"ENOUGH!" General Lane thundered. He advanced toward the desk, looking livid. Chloe heard Gibbs' footsteps coming closer. "I will not stand here and let you railroad a perfectly good man!" The General snarled. "You have NOTHING to hold him on apart from the word of a hack of a reporter who didn't even finish her journalism degree!" Try as Chloe might not to let anything the General said affect her, those words stung like a bitch!

"We have evidence that links Derek Friedman's truck to the murder of Seaman Horton." Gibbs spoke up, having moved right up behind General Lane. The General turned to face him.

"Do you, now?" He stared at Gibbs with glare that was only rivaled by the one Gibbs was glaring at him with. Chloe could have sworn she heard the faint echo of swords clashing and sparks flying when those two steely gazes met. The General had met his match! "And I suppose you also have evidence that proves that Mr. Friedman was driving said truck when the murder took place?"

"He has a history of violence." Gibbs deadpanned, "He and the victim have clashed on numerous occasions and it's well known that Friedman deemed Horton no more than an obstacle in his path toward his goals."

"I'll take that as a 'no' to my question." The General smirked. "You have nothing to tie him to his murder other than his truck."

"That truck is his pride and joy. He ever let anyone borrow it?" Gibbs fired back immediately.

"Now, how would I know that?" The General replied.

"What about his service weapon?" Gibbs asked.

"His w-?" The General faltered, looking a little lost for words. He'd obviously not expected that question. "What are you getting at?"

"Seaman Horton was shot prior to being run over by Friedman's truck."

"And what makes you think Friedman even 'has' a service weapon?" The General smirked.

"Call it a gut feeling." Gibbs deadpanned. That tone of his was so unnerving that Chloe felt the need to repress a shudder. "We'll know for sure when we turn his house upside down during our search."

"What gives you the impression that you have the right to search a civilian's residence?" The General glared at Gibbs and Gibbs glared right back. Chloe glanced between them, thinking that unless someone stopped them, they'd still be here a year from now, just glaring at each other and trying to get the other to look away first.

"We have a warrant to search Mr. Friedman's house and any other personal property in his name." The director's voice broke the staring match. "And we will be taking his truck into our evidence garage." The General broke eye contact and looked at the director. She was holding said warrant in her hand. The General snatched the legal document out of the woman's hand and unfolded it to read.

"We will find Friedman's service weapon and we will confiscate any firearm we find on his property." Gibbs tilted his head a bit as he watched General Lane. "And we'll also be holding your sniper for questioning." Gibbs' tone was low but the intensity wasn't lost on anyone. General Lane's head snapped up to stare at Gibbs in a mixture of shock and anger. Chloe did a double take and stared at her boss. Did he just say Sniper? Was he talking about Derek Friedman? "Seeing as how he's the main suspect in two ongoing investigations." Gibbs added.

"'Two'?" General Lane echoed. If Chloe hadn't known better, she would have sworn that the General had just started to sweat.

"Didn't I mention that?" Gibbs sounded almost surprised at himself. "Huh." He added as he turned and headed toward the conference table again. Chloe blinked a few times, not really knowing what Gibbs was playing at. What did he mean by 'two' investigations? There was only the murder investigation. Right…? She looked over at the director and found her staring at Gibbs, her face completely void of any expression. What was going on here?

"What other investigation is he involved in?" The General demanded. Gibbs took his time in turning back to face the group.

"Assault; on a navy lieutenant." He said as he squared his shoulders. The General looked confused. "You may know her already, General. Her name is Rachel Horton." Okay… that one came completely out of left field! Rachel Horton? But she was thousands of miles away, stationed on a navy ship somewhere in the Persian Gulf!

"His girlfriend?" The General chuckled incredulously, looking from Gibbs to the director and back again. "Since when does NCIS investigate lover's quarrels?"

"Since Lt. Horton reported to her stationed vessel, barely able to do her job due to injuries she'd sustained while in your man's company." Gibbs replied.

"So naturally you attributed that to him having roughed her up?" The General chuckled, sounding more annoyed now than incredulous.

"Well, she told me that she'd gone hiking and slipped into a ravine." Gibbs gave a little shrug.

"Then I think you should take her word for it and stop bothering innocent people!" The General snapped.

"Yeah." Gibbs chuckled, "I can't do that." Chloe frowned in confusion. Gibbs looked genuinely amused. General Lane, however, did not. "The lieutenant didn't mention the hiking trip to the ship's doctor when he wanted to pull her off duty. She told him that she'd fallen down a flight of stairs."

"And?" General Lane snapped.

"Lt. Rachel Horton is not a very good liar, General." Gibbs stated matter-of-factly.

"What-! What is this?" The General shot as he turned to the director. "Is this how you run this place? Guesswork and wild accusations? What, is a magic eight ball your primary method of investigation?" Chloe felt her temper flare. She'd had just about enough of her uncle's attitude!

"Have you ever seen a woman that's been abused, General?" The words were out of Chloe's mouth before she could stop herself. She knew what Gibbs was getting at. Rachel Horton had lied when she'd insisted that Derek Friedman had nothing to do with her being injured. Chloe had seen it in the young woman's eyes. "As in emotionally and psychologically tormented? They may look perfectly normal to the untrained eye, but the moment you mention their tormentor and suggest that he may have mistreated them, they instantly jump to his defense with-"

"Chlo!" the General cut her off, adding a tired sigh at the end of his abbreviation of her name, "This is a discussion for the grown ups. You really don't want to get in the middle of this." Chloe's eyes widened in fury. He had just waved her off as if she were no more than an uneducated child!

"That's 'Agent' Sullivan to you, General!" Chloe erupted. To her surprise, her outburst stopped General Lane in his tracks. He was staring at her in surprise, like she had just transformed before his eyes. Chloe glared hatefully at her uncle, feeling her anger bubbling within her. She'd had so much more than enough of Sam Lane's dismissal of her opinions over the years. It was like years of frustration were finally bubbling to the surface. "Unless you want me to start addressing you as 'Sam' or even 'Sammy', like my father does," the General seemed to swell in indignation at Chloe's mention of her father's nickname for him, a name that the good General despised more than anything else, "you will show me the professional curteousy of addressing me as is fitting to my station! You may feel that what I do is nothing more than an annoyance, and to you, I might not be much more than an ignorant child, but my job is just as perfectly legitimate as yours is! You-! You're unbelievable! One of your men is in custody, accused of murder, and you're acting like you can just waltz in here and-!"

"Agent Sullivan!" The director's firm bark cut Chloe's tirade short. "That is enough!" Clamping her mouth shut, Chloe glared at her uncle, her chest heaving with her heavy breathing as she tried to wrestle her temper back into check. NO ONE could make her as angry as General Lane could! He was the most incorrigible person she had ever met! "General Lane," the director turned her attention back to Chloe's uncle, "We will be holding your man in custody, interrogating him as to his involvement in Seaman Horton's death, and we will act on the search warrant granted to us by the federal judicial system." The general scowled at the director, obviously not liking this one bit. "I will of course be notifying Army CID and-"

"That will not be necessary." The General cut the director off.

"Excuse me?" The director arched her eyebrows questioningly.

"I said, that won't be necessary, director Shepard." The General repeated, a little more respectfully this time around. "I will be handling this matter personally. I will act as Mr. Friedman's armed forces representative myself. All of your findings will be shared with me and I will be kept in the loop on any and all actions taken regarding Mr. Friedman's case." The director watched the General for a moment in silence.

"A noble thing to do for a civilian with no ties to the military." The director smiled ruefully.

"My reasons are my own." The General replied shortly. Chloe glanced over at Gibbs and saw him watching General Lane like a hawk. Gibbs had mentioned something about Friedman being a sniper earlier and it had startled the General that he had. Could it be that Friedman was in fact a sniper in some army special task force that was off-the-books?

"Fine. You will be kept in the loop." The director agreed.

"Good." The General nodded, looking satisfied. "Then I trust, Special Agent Gibbs," he turned to face Chloe's boss, "that we can handle these matters quickly and quietly?"

"Got somewhere you need to be, General?" Gibbs asked, cocking his head. Sam Lane gave a tiny stiff smile.

"Let's just say that I wouldn't want Mr. Friedman spending any more time in confinement than he has to. For the sake of the investigation, of course." Gibbs held the General's gaze for a moment before it flicked over to the director.

"Investigations." The director corrected the General's words. "As Special Agent Gibbs mentioned, your man is involved in more than just the investigation of Seaman Horton's murder." The General turned back to the director, looking livid.

"You're not seriously considering pursuing this blatant slandering of—"

"NCIS has the authority to investigate and file charges on behalf of any and all enlisted personnel and officers of the naval forces and the marine corp!" the director cut General Lane off in a clipped official tone, "And when a navy lieutenant gets assaulted by another member of the armed forces, even if she herself does not report said assault, you can bet your entire battalion that this is exactly what we intend to do."

"This is outrageous!" The general thundered.

"No, General." Director Shepard calmly removed her glasses and placed them on the desk in front of her before rising to her feet; her steely gaze locked on the General. "What's truly outrageous is you walking into my office and telling me how to run this agency!" The director's very presence seemed to fill the whole room. Chloe was reminded of the time she first met the director in Grant Gabriel's office back at the Daily Planet. She'd gotten the impression then that director Shepard was not a woman to be challenged, and proof of that very fact was clear as day in front of her right at that very moment. "Do not, even for a second, entertain the notion that you can dictate terms while in my office, General! I'm allowing you full access to our findings as a gesture of good faith! Under normal circumstances, Army CID would be all over this investigation, sifting through every shred of evidence with a fine toothed comb! And you can bet that once your man's background came to light, their grip on your covert operations team would tighten so drastically that your people would need to ask permission every time they needed to draw breath!" Ah-hah! So there was a covert operations team involved! That's why her uncle wanted to handle this one personally! Chloe glanced over at her uncle, knowing that a storm was definitely on its way. There was no way in hell that General Sam Lane was going to take that one lying down. The look of indignation and insult on the General's face gave every indication of an impending bold of lightning.

"You," the General turned to Gibbs, a threatening finger directed in his direction, "will treat Derek Friedman with the utmost respect!" Chloe closed her eyes in exasperation. How classic General Lane! Resulting to threats when he didn't get his way! "There will be no allegations made upon his character or his person unless you have concrete evidence that allows you to back up your statements! And even then, I warn you to tread lightly!"

"You might want to put that finger away, General." Gibbs' tone, although calm and barely above a whisper, spoke volumes. This was a man who did not take kindly to threats! General Lane hesitated for a moment and then lowered his hand, resting it at his side.

"Mark my word, Special Agent Gibbs;" he snarled, "I will be watching you like a hawk all throughout your investigations!" Gibbs let out an amused chuckle, accompanied by that weird twitch of his head that was not exactly a nod, but still not exactly a shake of the head.

"I'm sure you will, General." Gibbs sounded generally amused again. "I just hope you can keep up."

"You will keep me in the loop!" The General raised his voice. "You don't make a move without me being present!"

"You'll get all the info you want on the murder investigation." Gibbs said matter-of-factly as he started for the door.

"And the assault charge?" The General snapped. Gibbs reached the door and opened it, then stopped and looked over at the General like his question had confused him a little.

"Well, don't look at me." He said with a small shrug. "Talk to Agent Sullivan." He indicated Chloe with a jerk of his head in her direction. Chloe frowned in confusion. Wait, what…? The General seemed to share her confusion. "It's her case." Gibbs said finally as he exited the room. Chloe stared in wide eyed shock at the door closing behind her boss. She could have sworn her ears were ringing. Wha- what did he just say?


End file.
